Benicia Volunteers to Practice Earthquake Drills Saturday

Local volunteers will spend their weekend planning what to do in case of a massive earthquake in Benicia.

The Benicia Emergency Response Team, a volunteer group that seeks to prepare residents to assist first-responders, will participate in "Formidable Footprint–A National Neighborhood Exercise" on Saturday.

“Recent disasters and severe weather events nationally, such as Hurricane Sandy, illustrate that we all need to be better prepared to support the needs of our families, neighbors, and community should a disaster strike,” a press release quoted Benicia Emergency Response Team Chief Larry Whitney as saying. “The Formidable Footprint exercise gives us an excellent opportunity to work together, learn, and test our capabilities sowe are ready to help our fellow Benicia residents survive and recover from disaster.”

More information about the three-hour, tabletop exercise follows:

Benicia Emergency Response Team (BERT) Members to Participate In Earthquake Exercise on Saturday

Volunteer members of the Benicia Emergency Response Team will join more than 300 community response teams, neighborhood associations, community and faith-based organization and local governments across the U.S. that are participating in the Formidable Footprint – A National Neighborhood Exercise on Saturday, March 30.

The three-hour tabletop event will focus on an earthquake scenario and is part of an ongoing series of disaster exercises that are taking place in 2012-2013. BERT officials noted the importance of disaster training and the benefits to their community.

“Recent disasters and severe weather events nationally, such as Hurricane Sandy, illustrate that we all need to be better prepared to support the needs of our families, neighbors, and community should a disaster strike,” said BERT Chief Larry Whitney. “The Formidable Footprint exercise gives us an excellent opportunity to work together, learn, and test our capabilities so we are ready to help our fellow Benicia residents survive and recover from disaster.”

The Formidable Footprint series of neighborhood exercises are specifically designed for local organizations such as Neighborhood Watch and Community Emergency Response Teams(CERT) along with faith/community-based organizations that work to support the disaster-caused needs of the community during and following a disaster.

The Internet-based training is free of charge and all community-based groups are welcome to participate. Future scenarios will cover hazards such as: Flood, Tornado, Influenza pandemic,Wildfire and Hurricanes. For additional exercise and registration information, please go to www.FormidableFootprint.org

The Formidable Footprint National Neighborhood Exercise series is underwritten by a team of national, regional and state organizations with the joint goal of providing an opportunity for local organizations to assess the disaster preparedness, response and recovery capabilities.

To learn more about the Benicia Emergency Response Team, go to the BERT website at www.beniciabert.com, or send an email to chief@beniciabert.com.

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