Moore, Oklahoma Loses 20 Children to Tornado
Please send your thoughts, good karma or prayers to the citizens (and parents) of Moore, Oklahoma.
The tornado today went right thru two elementary schools killing at least seven children. A high school nearby also got hit. There are still children missing. The schools - and nearly everything else in the area - were leveled.
Here's a link to the Red Cross if you can help.
The tornado today went right thru two elementary schools killing at least seven children. A high school nearby also got hit. There are still children missing. The schools - and nearly everything else in the area - were leveled.
Here's a link to the Red Cross if you can help.
Comments
It got me thinking (and worrying) about potential disasters closer to home. Fortunately we are not prone to tornadoes in the NW but we are prone to earthquakes, and experts say it is just a matter of time before the next really big one hits. So I'm wondering a little about emergency preparedness in our schools and also about the structural safety of them. In particular, the really old ones - Lincoln for instance is around 100 years old. I think there are some other pretty old/run down ones too. A lot of Seattle's old buildings are unreinforced masonry structures that do really poorly in event of quakes. Does anyone know, or is anyone able to point me toward who is in a position to answer questions about what, if any, seismic upgrades have been undertaken, and what sort of codes buildings such as these are subject to? I was under the impression that at Lincoln some parts of building had been retrofitted or something, but not all - if so, how can we ensure only the 'safe' parts are used when they plan putting more kids/school communities in there. I would hate to think we could be putting kids in harms way by sending them to school in buildings that are potential deathtraps in the event of a quake. And from what I have seen of the workings of this district I have very little faith in them having done this sort of thing properly. Also do they have earthquake drills in our schools (I hear about fire and lockdown drills but kids have never mentioned earthquake drills).
Can anyone out there shed any light on seismic upgrades/safety etc or where I can get more info as far as checking what has been done, what codes apply (and compliance with any codes)? Is this something I should even be worried about or should i just trust that if they have it's a school it will be all ship-shape and safe?
Disaster aware
I know the Meng Facilities report addresses some of what you ask. I know that a lot of BTA money has gone for seismic but your point about the age of the building versus the code that applies to it is valid. New codes apply to new buildings, not the old ones.
That said, I think the overwhelming majority of building have had some seismic. (But saying that reminds me that not all buildings even have sprinkler systems nor are they required to - many parents don't know that).
You could call Facilities and ask or better yet, write down your questions, send them end AND cc the Board.
As for the drills, you could ask Pegi McEvoy. She'd know for sure.
When my sons were at Eckstein, we realized that even with the emergency kits the district has at each school (and I can't even remember if there were one per student), we had 1,000+ kids. So we got a old and large storage container put outside and put in water, crude toileting equipment, extra clothes (because at any given time, there may be kids outside in PE clothes), first aid and some food.
Because, to understand, in the hours after an emergency, the kids may be outside, for hours, on the playground. The school may or may not be able to release them and parents may or may not be able to get to them. (This is one reason they like an emergency contact to be nearby.)
SolvayGirl
Disaster aware