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On the third Monday of each month, Laguna Beach Police Department Emergency Management Coordinator Jordan Villwock will be talking with Tyler Russell on KX FM 104.7 about emergency preparedness in our community and how you can ready yourself in the event of disaster.

Along with the beauty and charm of Laguna Beach comes a list of potential hazards. Though tornadoes and blizzards aren’t exactly common on the coast of Southern California, there are some very real threats and LBPD Officer Jordan Villwock says it’s crucial to be aware of them: flooding, wildfires, landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes and associated power outages are all dangers to prepare for. Recently, the 2005 landslides December 2010 flooding in the Canyon served as stark reminders of the havoc that nature can wreak in our area, and it’s important to make arrangements prior to the emergency situation. As Laguna’s only FM radio station, it will be KX 93. 5’s duty to facilitate in the event of crisis in town by broadcasting relevant information. Here are some emergency preparedness guidelines we recommend you follow:

First, make a plan with your family/loved ones:

  • Familiarize yourself with the evacuation route for your home
  • Set a local meeting place and an out of town meeting place where you can meet up, someplace that you spend a lot of time together (e.g. a park, City hall, landmarks)
  • Identify an out-of-state contact, another family member or friend, who can relay messages between you and your loved ones. If the cellular bandwidth is tied up, you will not be able to make local calls but can still communicate through your 3rd-party contact.

Jordan’s Top Five Important Emergency Supplies

1) Enough water for entire family

  •  1 gallon per person per day, including petswater emergency preparedness

2) Enough food for entire family

  • 3 day supply, preferably non-perishable/canned

3)Communication tools

  • battery-powered/hand crank AM/FM/Weather radio and/or cell phone

emergency preparedness radio am/fm/weather hand crank4) Cash

  • in small bills, in case you need to make a purchase at a store

5) Flashlightspotlight on a black background

  • place batteries in backwards to conserve their power, turn them around when in use

Other suggested emergency supplies:

Backup batteries

Cell phone charger

First aid kit

Mechanical can opener

Physical, paper map (don’t rely on your smart phone data)

Sanitary needs (toilettes, garbage bags, plastic ties)

Whistle (in case you get trapped)

Wrench/pliers to turn off utilities like water/gas

More tips:

  • Text messaging uses lower bandwidth than calls, when network has availability it’ll send those texts/emails out first
  • Register all your contacts (cell, texts, email) at AlertOC.com so that the City can readily communicate with you during emergency. If you have a landline, it’s already in the system

CERT class emergency preparedness

A 25-hour series of FEMA-regulated CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) classes is being offered through the City, and will run every Wednesday night from 6-9pm beginning next week, March 25. Program graduates will learn about search and resuce, how to fight small fires, use first aid, and will be called on in the event of emergency to organize and help others in their neighborhoods. To register, fill out and submit an application that can be found on the City website–the deadline to apply is this Friday, March 20 by 5pm!

Listen to the full podcast below, and keep checking back here on the KX FM 104.7 blog every month for an update on emergency preparedness in our community! The next segment will air at 5:30pm on Monday, June 15th. Check out kxfmradio.org/podcasts for more live interviews, plus in-studio performances & more.