Disaster Preparedness

Health and Human Services is committed to Disaster Preparedness. As a Department we meet monthly to discuss Department-wide planning initiatives including those from Public Health, Mental Health, Social Services and Aging and Adult Services. We work closely with the County’s Office of Emergency Services, Community Based Organizations and City and Town Governments to continuously review, update and exercise County-wide plans.

Appreciating the importance of considering those most in need in the community, we are currently revising our Access and Functional Needs Plan to be more inclusive and developing a Disaster Plan for CalFresh (formally Food Stamps). In the Division of Mental Health, clinicians are trained to provide a range of crisis interventions, including debriefing and support after disasters. Our Division of Aging and Adult Services works closely with vulnerable individuals to help them create emergency plans and generates a monthly list of blind, disabled and older adults who, in the event of a disaster, may require special attention.

Public Health is a major concern during a disaster and HHS has a program dedicated to Public Health Preparedness (PHP). Through monthly meetings the PHP program works in very close collaboration with hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities and community-based organizations in Marin County to ensure coordination of plans and procedures for emergency response. Some of the key areas where extensive work is being done include: monitoring communicable disease in the community, building Marin’s capacity to deliver health care services to a large number of people through the Marin Medical Reserve Corps (currently 360 medical/non-medical volunteers), and close collaboration with our healthcare facilities to increase our capacity to respond to a mass injury/illness/casualty event.

In the event that our hospitals reach their capacity to care for individuals we have plans in place to quickly set up and operate temporary hospital sites in Marin. These are just a few examples of the many projects that are currently underway. Should you have questions specific to Public Health Preparedness plans and initiatives, please feel free to contact the PHP Program at 415-473-4163.

After a disaster, HHS along with its partners will work hard to restore essential services and provide Shelter, Food and Medical Care to Marin; however, in the event of a catastrophic disaster it may take time to restore services. During that time, individuals and families need to be prepared. Are you? Where would you go in the event of a disaster? How would you reunite with your family? Planning is critical. Please consider your personal or family disaster plan; below are some resources that can help.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Survival Kits: do you have everything you would need if you couldn’t access essential services for 72 hours?

Household Survival Kit checklist – courtesy of Get Ready Marin

Car and Office Survival Kit checklists – courtesy of Get Ready Marin

The Get Ready Marin Manual has additional checklists and coupons for creating your personal disaster kits

Additional local resources to help you get prepared

Get Ready Marin – you will find local disaster preparedness information

72 Hours – the amount of time you should be prepared to live without vital services, this SF-based website has information on how to prepare for you and your family as well as emergency specific tips.

Take the San Francisco Quake Quiz for tips on what to do in the event of a disaster – it’s fun and interactive

Marin County Office of Emergency Services – visit to find out about what the County is doing to prepare at the local level

State, Federal and International Preparedness sites

CalEMA – California Emergency Management Agency

FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency

ISDR – United Nation’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

American Red Cross – The Red Cross works locally, nationally and around the globe helping communities prepare and respond to disasters