In Our View: Be Prepared For Disaster

By any measure, it could have been much worse.

A tornado blew through Battle Ground last week, compounding a major weather system that hammered the region for a couple days. While winds reportedly reached more than 100 mph, power lines were downed and a couple of buildings were damaged, there were no reported injuries — fortunately. But thanks are still warranted to all first responders, those who worked to get the power back up, and anybody who assisted neighbors and kept others in their thoughts.

“I moved here to get away from this,” said Diane Clark, who moved to Southwest Washington from South Dakota. “This is not what you expect in Battle Ground, Washington.”

No, it’s not. Yet tornados are not unheard of in this part of the country. In April 1972, a violent twister hit Vancouver, killing six people near Fourth Plain Boulevard and Andresen Road. It destroyed Ogden Elementary School and, as The Columbian reported last week, “carved an 8-mile path of destruction with wind speeds as high as 200 mph.” Smaller tornados have touched down in Southwest Washington in recent years, including one in 2014 that sliced through Longview and Kelso.

While a vast majority of the world’s tornados are reported in the heartland of the United States, where a flat, dry landscape contributes to their formation, they have been reported on every continent but Antarctica. The deadliest tornado in recorded history, according to the World Meteorological Organization, killed 1,300 people in Bangladesh in 1989.

Although last week’s tornado resulted in no injuries, the weather system that pummeled the area served as a reminder that citizens should be prepared for severe weather or natural disasters. Days of rain led to minor flooding and made for hazardous driving; a private road in La Center was washed away and left six households cut off; a landslide closed northbound Interstate 5 for a time near Woodland, with one lane remaining closed indefinitely; and some schools faced delays or closures.

Driving in severe weather calls for caution. Meanwhile, all households should have an emergency kit at the ready. Among other items, the Red Cross recommends:

• Water, one gallon per person per day;

• Nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food;

• A flashlight;

• Extra cash;

• Sanitation and personal hygiene items;

• And a first aid kit.

The items should be stored in a place that can be accessed in the dark in case the power has gone out. More information and recommendations can be found at tinyurl.com/bqaynld.

Perhaps the most important item, however, can be a concern for neighbors. During natural disasters or power outages, remember to check upon those who might be vulnerable or need a little extra help in navigating the trouble. One thing about disasters is that they don’t discriminate based upon age or economic means.

The mild climate of the Northwest and the fact that tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes and other events are relatively rare and relatively mild can lead to complacency on the part of the citizenry. This isn’t Kansas, where tornados are an annual fact of life; this isn’t California, where earthquakes are common. But devastating events can happen here, as well, and many people do not realize they are not adequately prepared until they need to be.