CERT in Action!
Monterey, California CERT Clears Beaches During Tsunami Threat
The Monterey, California CERT was activated in March 2011 to help clear beaches in the event that the deadly tsunami that struck Japan also struck the Monterey area. Working in seven teams, 39 CERT members assisted local law enforcement in patrolling the Monterey coastline, asking beach goers to leave the area, and giving regular reports on the tidal conditions via radio. Each CERT member had access to a hand-held radio with a special VHF frequency dedicated to CERT broadcasts.
The use of the CERT's new E-sponder paging system made it simple to quickly activate the team, said Demetrius Castros, who is a lead CERT instructor and member of the Monterey CERT Advisory Committee. The system allows an authorized user to send an e-mail, which is then digitized into robo-calls that provide voicemail and text messages. The benefit of this system over a traditional phone tree is that a single person can activate an entire CERT simultaneously in a matter of minutes. "Traditional phone trees take a long time, and it's sometimes hard to get a hold of people," said Castros.
CERT members patrolled the beaches until the predicted surge threat was over at 9:00 AM. Although Monterey only faced a 2-foot surge in its waters, the threat to the California coast was very real. The neighboring community of Santa Cruz, 17 miles away, faced $15 million in damage to its harbor facilities caused by the tsunami wave.
"Though the tsunami did not strike our area hard, I was proud to know that 39 people showed up to do whatever they needed to do to help. It was a terrific show for our program to have so many come out at such an early hour," said Castros.
For more information, contact montereycert@hotmail.com.