Sammamish citizens prepare for worst

If or when the big one hits, Sammamish citizens will be prepared — at least that's the hope of the Sammamish Citizen Corps.

If or when the big one hits, Sammamish citizens will be prepared — at least that’s the hope of the Sammamish Citizen Corps.

“We’re trying to draw as much of the community as we can just to educate people,” said David Plowman, SCC board member and organizer of Saturday’s eighth annual Disaster Readiness Fair held at City Hall.

Approximately 225 citizens stopped by last weekend’s event, which featured a wide range of activities, vendors and classes.

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Members of the Sammamish Police Department and Eastside Fire & Rescue provided interactive activities, while the Sammamish Plateau Amateur Radio Club displayed weather balloons equipped with radio antennas.

Plowman said over the years SCC, a non-profit, has trained roughly 570 Sammamish citizens to be Community Emergency Response Team members. CERTs are designed to enhance first-response capability in neighborhoods and workplaces in the event of disasters like floods, earthquakes wind storms, ice storms or anything else that could isolate people for an extended period of time.

Plowman said community organization is critical when the unexpected strikes.

“If there’s a disaster, all the public resources – the fire department, the police department — everybody’s going to be overwhelmed, so we have to be able to take care of ourselves,” he said.

Seven-year-old Nick and 5-year-old Carter Hyland take a look inside Eastside Fire & Rescue emergency communications vehicle Saturday at the Sammamish Disaster Readiness Fair.

Hundreds of community members came out to Saturday’s Disaster Readiness Fair at Sammamish City Hall.