ትካል ህጹጽ ምላሽ ዝህብ ጉጅለ ​​ማሕበረሰብ ከባቢ (CERT)፡ ናይ ንፋስ መስትያትን መስኮትን ምፍላይ ፕላካርድ፡ ናይ ጋዝ ዩቲሊቲ ምዕጻው ካርታ፡ ከምኡ’ውን መዝገብ ተቓላዕቲ ጎረቤት¶

7.0+ ዝዓቐኑ ኣዕናዊ ምንቅጥቃጥ ምድሪ፡ EF4 ወይ EF5 ቶርናዶ ለበዳ፡ ዓቢ ህቦብላ፡ ወይ ንብዙሕ መዓልታት ዝጸንሕ ክረምታዊ ምፍራስ ሽቦ ኣብ ሓደ ሜትሮፖሊታን ከባቢ ምስ ዘጋጥም፡ ሞያውያን ሞተር መጥፋእቲ ሓዊ፡ ናይ ከተማ ምድላይን ምድሓንን (USAR) ስኩድ፡ ከምኡ’ውን ናይ ኮሙን ኣምቡላንሳት ብኣሽሓት ዝቑጸሩ ብሓንሳብ 911 ዝድውለሉ፡ ዝፈረሱ ልዕሊ ጽርግያታትን ብኣግራብ ዝተዓጽወ ጎደናታትን ተዋሒጠን ኣለዋ። ድሕሪ ሓደጋ ዝግበር ተሞክሮኣዊ ትንተና ካብ ኤጀንሲ ምሕደራ ህጹጽ እዋን ፌደራል ኣሜሪካ (FEMA)፣ እቲ ክፍሊ ምሕደራ ህጹጽ እዋን ግዝኣት ዋሽንግተን (Map Your Neighborhood / MYN), and the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) demonstrates that 80 to 95 percent ካብ ኩሎም ቀጥታዊ ምውጻእን ኣብ ቀዳማይ ሰዓት ዝግበር ምትእትታው ምድሓን ህይወትን ብዩኒፎርም ዝለበሱ መጥፋእቲ ሓዊ ዘይኮነስ፡ ኣብተን ቀዳሞት 60 ክሳብ 180 ደቓይቕ ብቐረባ ኣብ ጎረባብቲ ጎረባብቲ እዩ ዝፍጸም (The Golden Hours)። ኣብዚ ሕጂ እዋን ንጡፍ ንህይወት ኣብ ሓደጋ ዘእቱ ህጹጽ ኩነታት እንተ ኣጋጢሙ፡ ናብ ከባቢኻ ክትድውል ፈትን። ናይ ህጹጽ እዋን ቁጽሪ (911 ኣብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣመሪካን ካናዳን፡ 112 ኣብ መላእ ሕብረት ኤውሮጳ፡ 999 ኣብ ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ፡ ወይ... 000 in Australia) and consult our companion guides on neighborhood CERT setup: FRS/GMRS radio channel plan, vulnerable neighbor registry, and cribbing cache፣ neighborhood CERT mutual aid and block captain plan፣ ከምኡ’ውን earthquake home retrofitting: water heater strapping, furniture anchoring, and gas wrench.

This operational field guide provides a step-by-step blueprint for organizing your immediate 15 to 20 contiguous households (or a single apartment floor) into a self-reliant FEMA CERT and Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) Mutual Aid Pod. You will learn how to deploy standardized high-contrast Reversible Window and Vehicle Windshield Triage Placards (GREEN "OK / ALL CLEAR" ኣንጻር . RED "HELP NEEDED / MEDICAL OR ENTRAPMENT") so two-person scout teams can triage an entire street from the sidewalk in under 8 minutes, how to draft a physical Lot-by-Lot Exterior Natural Gas, Propane, and Curb-Stop Water Shutoff Map paired with tethered non-sparking aluminum wrenches to stop post-earthquake neighborhood infernos, and how to administer a confidential, Double-Envelope Opt-In Vulnerable Neighbor Check-In Registry for residents relying on electric oxygen concentrators, refrigerated insulin, home dialysis, or mobility devices.

እዚ ሕጂ ግበሩ¶

1. Limit your primary mutual aid unit to your immediate 15 to 20 contiguous homes (ወይ... 20 to 30 apartment units on a single floor), and select an outdoor Block Gathering Site today. A 300-home homeowners association (HOA) is far too large to walk and inspect during the first 30 minutes after an earthquake or tornado; split large subdivisions into walkable 15-to-20-home Pods, each with its own outdoor Block Gathering Site (a wide driveway apron or cul-de-sac island clear of brick chimneys, overhead power transformers, and tall trees).
2. Print and laminate reversible 28 x 43 cm (11 x 17 inch) "GREEN OK / RED HELP NEEDED" Window and Vehicle Windshield Triage Placards for every household on your block. Store the laminated placard inside the front coat closet or taped to the inside of the utility closet door alongside a roll of painter's tape. Within 10 minutes after a disaster strikes, every safe household tapes the Green "OK" side facing outward in their street-facing front window (or slides it onto the dashboard against the front windshield of their parked driveway vehicle if the house windows are shattered).
3. Walk your 15 to 20 homes during a 90-minute "Block Mapping Walk" to draw the exact location of every house's Exterior Natural Gas Meter (or Propane Tank Dome) and Main Water Shutoff Valve on a physical Block Map. During a severe storm, snowdrift, or night blackout, panicked neighbors waste precious minutes hunting through bushes on the wrong side of a house while ruptured gas lines hiss toward ignition sources. Marking G (Gas Meter: North/South/East/West wall)፣ W (Water Curb-Stop / House Valve), and E (Main Electrical Breaker Panel) on a laminated overhead street sketch lets buddy teams locate any shutoff valve in 15 seconds.
4. Zip-tie a dedicated 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 inch) Non-Sparking Cast Aluminum or Beryllium-Bronze Gas Shutoff Wrench directly to the pipe next to every natural gas meter on the block. Never use a standard steel pipe wrench or steel pliers in a gas-filled atmosphere if avoidable (steel-on-steel slippage can strike an incendiary spark), and never waste time digging through a collapsed garage tool chest to find a wrench. Remember the cardinal rule: shut off the gas valve 90 degrees perpendicular to the supply pipe ONLY if you smell rotten-egg mercaptan odor, hear hissing, see the meter test dials spinning rapidly while all appliances are off, or see structural damage to the house.
5. Establish a confidential, paper-only "Double-Envelope Vulnerable Neighbor Registry" stored with your Block Captain and Co-Captain. Invite solo seniors, families with infants, and residents who depend on electric oxygen concentrators, home ventilators, CPAP/BiPAP, power wheelchairs, refrigerated insulin, or hearing/vision aids to fill out a voluntary check-in card. Seal the cards inside a signed manila envelope marked "CONFIDENTIAL: Open Only During an Area-Wide Disaster or Grid Outage Exceeding 4 Hours" so privacy is 100 percent protected during normal times while ensuring immediate life-safety checks during a crisis.
6. Pre-assign 2-Person CERT Buddy Teams and a Simplex Walkie-Talkie Channel (FRS/GMRS Channel 3, Privacy Code 0 in North America; PMR446 Channel 3, Code 0 in the UK/EU; UHF CB Channel 18 in Australia/NZ). Under official FEMA CERT doctrine, no rescuer ever works alone: two-person buddy teams walk the sidewalk inspecting every house showing a Red "HELP" placard, every house showing zero placard, and every home on the Vulnerable Neighbor Registry, while a scribe at the Block Gathering Site logs house statuses on the master clipboard.

ኦም ውሳነ፡ ቀዳማይ-60-ደቓይቕ ከባቢ CERT / MYN ምፍላይን ዩቲሊቲ ምዕጻውን ዋሕዚ ስራሕ¶

flowchart TD
    Impact["ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት፡ ቶርናዶ፡ ህቦብላ ወይ ግሪድ ኮላፕስ ስትራይክስ"] --> HomeFirst["ደቓይቕ 0 ክሳብ 12 (መጀመርታ ኣብ ውሽጢ ገዛኻ):<br/>1. ስድራቤት ንመጉዳእቲ ምፍታሽ & ምፍሳስ ደም ምቁጽጻር<br/>2. ጽኑዕ ቆቢዕ፣ ቡት፣ ቆርበት ጓንቲ፣ & ናይ ቅድሚት መብራህቲ ምልባስ<br/>3. ናይ ደገ ጋዝ መለክዒ መርምሮ (እንተፈሲሱ/ዝተበላሸወ ጥራይ ይዓጽዎ)<br/>4. ምዕጻው ገዛ ቀንዲ ቫልቭ ማይ (ናይ ማይ መሞቒ ታንኪ ይዕቅብ)"]

    HomeFirst --> PostSign{"ካብ 12 ክሳብ 15 ደቓይቕ፡ ናይ ቅድሚት መስኮት ወይ ናይ ተሽከርካሪ መስትያት ምፍላይ ፕላካርድ ፖስት ምግባር"}

    PostSign -->|"ናይ ገዛ ዘይተጎድኡ & ንጥቕሚ ውሑስ"| GreenSign["ኣብ ጎደና ዝጥምት መስኮት (ወይ መስትያት መኪና) ቀጠልያ 'OK - ALL CLEAR' ዝብል ጽሑፍ ኣርእዩ -> ሬድዮን ኪትን ምሓዝ -> ናብ ብሎክ ዝእከበሉ ቦታ ብእግርኻ ምኻድ"]

    PostSign -->|"ሕክምናዊ መጉዳእቲ፡ መጻወድያ ወይ ንጡፍ ሓደጋ ኣብ ውሽጢ"| RedSign["ኣብ መስኮት/መስትያት ንፋስን ድምጺ ፊስካ/ቀርኒ ኣየርን ቀይሕ 'ሓገዝ የድሊ' ዝብል ጽሑፍ ኣርእዩ -> ንብሎክ CERT Buddy Team ተጸበዩ።"]

    GreenSign --> Rally["MINUTES 15 TO 25 (At Block Gathering Site):<br/>Block Captain Opens Sealed Vulnerable Neighbor Envelope & Utility Map -> Assigns 2-Person Scout, Medical, & Utility Buddy Teams"]

    Rally --> SidewalkSweep{"MINUTES 25 TO 60 (Sidewalk Triage Sweep of All 15 to 20 Homes)"}

    SidewalkSweep -->|"House Shows GREEN 'OK' Placard"| MarkClear["Scribe Marks House 'OK / CLEAR' on Master Block Map -> Able-Bodied Residents Join Buddy Teams"]

    SidewalkSweep -->|"House Shows RED 'HELP' Placard, NO Placard at All, OR Listed on Vulnerable Neighbor Registry"| PriorityCheck["PRIORITY 1 BUDDY CHECK: 2-Person Team Performs 360-Degree Exterior Hazard Walk (Check for Downed Wires, Gas Smell/Hissing, & Structural Collapse)"]

    PriorityCheck -->|"Gas Leak Detected at Meter"| GasOff["Turn Exterior Gas Supply Valve 90 Degrees (Pipe-Perpendicular) With Non-Sparking Wrench -> Ventilate & Keep Ignition Sources Away"]

    PriorityCheck -->|"Safe to Approach / Enter"| RenderAid["ብጽምዲ ኣእትዉ (ኣብ Door Jamb '/' ምልክት ግበሩ):<br/>- START Triage (ምፍሳስ ደም ሻምብቆታት ደው ምባል፣ መስመር ኣየር ክፉት፣ ድሌት ኦክስጅን/ኢንሱሊን ምፍታሽ)<br/>- ብቐሊሉ ዝተቐንጠጠ ግዳይ ብ60-In Pry Bar & 4x4 Box Cribbing ኣውጽእዎ።"]

Part 1: The Window and Vehicle Windshield Triage Placard System (Rapid Visual Sidewalk Triage) .¶

1. Why Visual Placards Cut Neighborhood Search Time by 75 Percent¶

Suppose an earthquake or tornado strikes a 20-home residential block at 6:30 PM. If a 4-person neighborhood volunteer team has to walk up every driveway, knock on all 20 doors, wait 3 minutes at each porch, and interview every homeowner, it takes 60 full minutes just to knock on all 20 doors. When every household on the block uses a standardized Reversible High-Contrast Window / Windshield Triage Placard, residents at the 14 undamaged houses confirm their family and gas meter are safe and tape the GREEN "OK" placard to their front window (or lay it across their car dashboard under the front windshield). When the Block Scout Team steps onto the sidewalk at Minute 15, they can visually clear 14 houses in 60 seconds without walking up a single porch step, directing 100 percent of their rescue manpower immediately to the houses displaying RED "HELP" ወይ "NO SIGN".

2. Why You Need Both Window and Car Windshield Placement Options¶

1. ዝተበታተነ ናይ ቅድሚት መስኮት ወይ ዝተዓጽወ ናይ ህቦብላ መሸጎሪ: ኣብ 7.0 ዝዓቐኑ ምንቅጥቃጥ ምድሪ፡ ዕስለ ኣንበጣ ወይ ህቦብላ፡ ናይ ቅድሚት ሳሎን ብርጭቆ መስኮት መብዛሕትኡ ግዜ ይስበር ወይ ብናይ ደገ ህቦብላ መሸጎሪ ስለዝሽፈን ኣብ ጽርግያ ዝኾነ ሰብ ኣብ ውሽጢ ገዛ ብቴፕ ዝተቐመጠ ምልክት ክርኢ ኣይክእልን።
2. Deep Setbacks and Rural Driveways: Where houses sit 20 to 45 meters (65 to 150 feet) back from the street behind trees or fences, a small paper sign in a dark window is invisible from the roadway, whereas the family car parked near the end of the driveway has a large angled glass windshield facing the street.
3. Nighttime Retro-Reflective Visibility: Apply two strips of retro-reflective silver/white DOT tape (3M Scotchlite) in an "O" shape on the Green "OK" side and a big reflective "H" ወይ "X" across the Red "HELP" side so a flashlight beam from 50 meters (165 feet) away lights up the sign in pitch darkness.

3. ወግዓዊ ብሎክ ፕላካርድ ሕብሪ፣ ታይፖግራፊን ትራያጅ ቀዳምነት ማትሪክስን።¶

Part 2: Lot-by-Lot Gas, Water, and Electrical Utility Shutoff Mapping¶

In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1994 Northridge (Los Angeles) earthquake, and the 1995 Great Hanshin (Kobe, Japan) earthquake, post-earthquake fires fed by ruptured residential natural gas meters and downed electrical wires destroyed more homes than the seismic shaking itself, because broken underground street water mains left fire hydrants dry. Mapping every utility shutoff on your 20-home block before a disaster lets your neighborhood extinguish gas leaks in the first 10 minutes.

========================================================================
   RESIDENTIAL NATURAL GAS METER SHUTOFF & block MAPPING REFERENCE
========================================================================

       GAS FLOWING ("ON")                   GAS SHUT OFF ("OFF")
   Valve Lug INLINE With Pipe         Valve Lug 90° PERPENDICULAR to Pipe

         |    |                                   |    |
         | || |  <-- Brass/Iron                   |    |
         | || |      Supply Valve              +----------+
         | || |      (Before Meter)            |  ======  | <-- Turned 1/4
         |    |                                +----------+     Turn (90°)
    +--------------+                         +--------------+
    | [0][4][8][2] | <-- Test Dials          | [0][4][8][2] |
    |  GAS METER   |                         |  GAS METER   |
    +--------------+                         +--------------+

  WHEN TO SHUT OFF GAS:                  CRITICAL SAFETY RULE:
  1. Smell rotten-egg mercaptan odor     Once turned OFF, NEVER turn the
  2. Hear hissing / roaring gas          gas valve back ON yourself.
  3. Meter dials spinning rapidly        Pilot lights are out; only a
     while all appliances are off        licensed utility technician can
  4. Visible structural house damage     purge and relight the system.
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1. How to Conduct the 90-Minute "Block Utility Mapping Walk"¶

Gather one representative from each of the 15 to 20 homes on a Saturday morning with a printed overhead street diagram (printed from Google Maps satellite view or sketched on graph paper). Walk from House #1 to House #20 as a group so neighbors physically see where each valve sits: 1. መዐቀኒ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ጋዝ ምድላይን ምልክት ምግባርን (Symbol: [G]) ወይ ኤልፒ ፕሮፓን ታንኪ (Symbol: [P]): - ኣብ ብሎክ ካርታ ** .[G]** ኣብ ልክዕ ኩርናዕ/መንደቕ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ገዛ (e.g., "NE side wall behind AC condenser" ወይ "Under front porch stairs"). - ቅኑዕ ናይ ቀረብ መዕጸዊ ቫልቭ ምልላይ: ነፍሲ ወከፍ ናይ መንበሪ ጋዝ መለክዒ ክልተ ሻምብቆታት ኣለዎ: እቲ ቀረብ ራይዘር ሻምብቆ ትኽ ኢሉ ካብ መሬት ንላዕሊ ዝመጽእ (usually on the left side) ከምኡ’ውን ናብ መንደቕ ዝኣቱ ናይ ገዛ መግቢ ሻምብቆ። ኣብ ልዕሊ እቲ ካብ መሬት ዝድይብ ሻምብቆ ራይዘር ዝርከብ ርብዒ-መኣዝን ዝኾነ ኣስራዚ ወይ ብሓጺን ዝተሰርሐ ፕላግ-ቫልቭ ሉግ ቅድሚ ቆጻሪ ርኸቦ። - Test-Fit and Tether a Non-Sparking Wrench: Verify that each homeowner has a 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 inch) cast-aluminum or bronze non-sparking gas shutoff wrench (or an adjustable crescent wrench wrapped in bright orange tape) hanging on a nail or zip-tied directly to the meter bracket so a neighbor can shut it off in 5 seconds without entering the house. - For Rural / Suburban LP Propane Tanks: Show neighbors how to lift the hinged metal protective dome cover on top of the outdoor 1,900-liter (500-gallon) propane tank and turn the round handwheel service valve clockwise ("Righty-Tighty") until completely closed (no wrench required). 2. Locate and Mark the Dual Water Shutoff Valves (Symbol: [W-House] እና [W-Curb]): - Valve 1 (House-Side Main Water Shutoff Valve - [W-House]): Located where the water line enters the house (garage wall, basement wall, utility closet, or exterior hose-bib riser in warm climates), usually fitted with a quarter-turn ball-valve lever or a round gate-valve wheel. Shutting this valve off immediately after an earthquake accomplishes two critical goals: (a) it prevents ruptured indoor pipes on the second floor from flooding the house, and (b) it traps the 150 to 300 liters (40 to 80 gallons) of clean, sterile drinking water stored inside the family's hot water heater tank so negative vacuum pressure in broken city street mains cannot siphon it backward out into the street sewer. - Valve 2 (Street Curb-Stop Meter Box - [W-Curb]): Located in the concrete or plastic box set into the sidewalk/lawn near the street curb. Keep two 70 to 90 cm (28 to 36 inch) steel T-handle Curb-Stop Water Meter Keys in the shared neighborhood tool cache: if a pipe snaps between the street and the house foundation wall, only shutting off the street curb-stop valve stops the geyser. 3. Locate and Mark the Main Electrical Service Panel (Symbol: [E]): - Note on the Block Map whether each home's main 100A / 200A Electrical Breaker Panel is mounted on an exterior wall (common in the US West and South) or inside the basement/garage. - The Safe Electrical Shutoff Sequence (Step-Down Rule): If a home has structural water leaks, sparking outlets, or burning insulation odor, never stand in a puddle of water to touch an electrical panel. If dry and safe to approach, flip all individual 15A/20A/30A branch circuit breakers to OFF first, and then flip the large 100A/200A Main Breaker at the top to OFF (shutting off individual loads first reduces high-amperage arc flash inside a damaged main breaker). (If the house is actively flooding with gas, DO NOT flip electrical breakers inside the house, as the internal breaker spark can detonate the gas cloud; shut off the exterior gas meter first).

Part 3: Administering the Opt-In "Vulnerable Neighbor Check-In Registry"¶

In every modern disaster, from the 2021 Texas Winter Storm Uri blackout and 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome to Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the overwhelming majority of preventable indoor fatalities occur among solo older adults, individuals dependent on electrically powered durable medical equipment (DME), and residents with mobility, vision, or hearing impairments who live quietly on residential streets where neighbors never realized they needed help until days too late.

1. The "Double-Envelope" Privacy Architecture (Why Opt-In Paper Beats Cloud Spreadsheets) .¶

Many older adults and disabled residents rightly refuse to put their personal medical diagnoses or solo-living status onto an online Google Sheet or public HOA directory for fear of identity theft or burglary. - How the Double-Envelope Protocol Solves the Privacy Problem: 1. Participation is 100 percent voluntary (Opt-In)። 2. Each participating household fills out a single paper Confidential Neighborhood Check-In Card (Form CERT-VN1) by hand. 3. During your annual Block Preparedness Meeting, all completed cards are placed inside a heavy manila Inner Envelope, which is sealed with tamper-evident tape and signed across the flap by two witnesses, then placed inside a waterproof Outer Pouch marked: > "ዝተዓሸገ ተቓላዕቲ ጎረቤት ህጹጽ መዝገብ፣ ብካፕቴን ብሎክ / ሓባራዊ ካፕቴን ጥራይ ክኽፈት ኣብ እዋን ዓቢ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት፣ ቶርናዶ፣ ህቦብላ፣ ትእዛዝ ምውጻእ፣ ወይ ምቁራጽ ሽቦ ልዕሊ 4 ሰዓታት።" 4. ቅዳሕ #1 ኣብቲ ናይ ብሎክ ካፕቴን ምሓዝን ምኻድን መጠርነፊን ቅዳሕ #2 ምስ ሓደ ኣብ ኣንጻር ጫፍ ናይቲ ጎደና ዝነብር ሓባራዊ ካፕቴን (ገዛ ብሎክ ካፕቴን እንተተበላሽዩ ወይ እቲ ካፕቴን ኣብ ስራሕ እንተዘይሃልዩ) ኣቐምጦ።

2. ንናይ ተቓላዕ ጎረቤት ምእታው ካርድ ዝኸውን ናይ ዳታ ዓውድታት ምምላእ¶

Part 4: Organizing the Block Incident Command Structure (FEMA CERT ICS) and Door Marking¶

When your 15 to 20 households assemble at the Block Gathering Site at Minute 15 after an earthquake or tornado, avoid the "everybody crowds around one problem" trap by dividing into four pre-planned functional roles modeled on the FEMA Incident Command System (ICS):

1. Block Coordinator & Scribe (Incident Commander / Logistics - 1 to 2 People): Stays permanently at the outdoor Block Gathering Site wearing a high-visibility vest, opens the Master Block Clipboard (holding the Lot Utility Map and the newly unsealed Vulnerable Neighbor Registry), monitors the Block Simplex Walkie-Talkie Channel (Tone 0) ከምኡ’ውን NOAA Weather Radio፣ ከምኡ’ውን ኣየነይቲ ናይ 2 ሰባት ባዲ ቲም ኣየነይቲ ኣድራሻ ኣብ ኣየናይ ደቒቕ ከም ዝኣተወት ይምዝግብ።
2. Scout & Utility Shutoff Buddy Teams (Operations - 2 Teams of 2 People Each): Wear ANSI Z89.1 hard hats, goggles, N95 masks, leather gloves, and boots, carry the 60-inch (1.5 m) steel pry bar, non-sparking gas wrench, 10-lb ABC መጥፋእቲ ሓዊ፣ ከምኡውን ዕንጨይቲ ክራዮን፣ ከምኡውን ብኽልቲኡ ሸነኽ ናይቲ ጎደና ምቑራጽ ዕንጨይቲ ቀጠልያ "OK" signs while immediately checking Red "HELP" houses, Vulnerable Registry houses, and No-Sign houses.
3. Medical & Triage Buddy Team (Medical Branch - 2 to 3 People): Sets up a clean Neighborhood Triage Tarpaulin at the Gathering Site stocked with CoTCCC windlass tourniquets (CAT Gen 7), hemostatic gauze, pressure dressings, splints, and foil blankets to perform START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) < 60-second assessments (stopping arterial bleeding, opening airways, and treating shock).
4. Care & Shelter Team (Family Support - 2 to 3 People): Gathers young children, frail older adults, and leashed pets in a safe yard or garage away from street hazards so able-bodied parents are free to help on rescue teams.

How to Use the FEMA CERT X Door-Frame Marking System¶

If a house on your block has suffered heavy structural damage and your 2-person CERT Buddy Team is preparing to enter: - Before Stepping Through the Door: Stick a 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inch) square of bright duct tape next to the front door and draw a single diagonal slash (/), writing the Date/Entry Time above the slash (Top) and your Team ID to the left (Left). - Upon Exiting the Structure: Draw the opposite diagonal slash (\) to complete an X, writing any Inside Hazards (e.g., "GAS OFF - STAIRS COLLAPSED") at the bottom (Bottom) and the number of Live (L) and Deceased (D) victims on the right (Right).

Regional emergency numbers and official community preparedness programs¶

• United States: Dial 911 for active emergencies. Find your city or county fire department's free 20-hour CERT Basic Training course at ready.gov/cert, and download official Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) templates and "OK / HELP" placard PDFs from the Washington State Emergency Management Division (mil.wa.gov/myn)።
• Canada, UK, EU, and Australia/NZ: Dial 911 in Canada (PreparedBC / NEPP), 999 or 112 in the UK (Cabinet Office Community Emergency Plan Toolkit), 112 ኣብ መላእ ሕብረት ኤውሮጳ፣ 000 ኣብ ኣውስትራልያ (Red Cross RediPlan / CFA Community Fireguard)፣ ወይ 111 ኣብ ኒውዚላንድ (NEMA / WREMO Community Emergency Hub Guide).

ብተደጋጋሚ ዝሕተቱ ሕቶታት¶

ስለምንታይ ኢና "OK" ወይ "HELP" ዝብል ጽሑፍና ኣብ ክልቲኡ ናይ ቅድሚት መስኮትናን ኣብ መስትያት መኪናና ደው ኢላ ዘላ መኪናናን ከነርኢ?¶

ኣብ ብዙሓት ከባቢታት ከባቢ ከተማታትን ገጠራትን፡ ገዛውቲ ካብቲ ጎደና ርሒቑ ብድሕሪ ኣግራብ፡ ዕንጨይቲ፡ ወይ ናሕሲ በረንዳ ኮፍ ኢሎም ይርከቡ፡ ወይ ድማ ናይ ደገ ህቦብላ መሸጎሪታትን ዝተሰብረ መስኮትን ኣለዎም፡ እዚ ድማ ኣብ ውሽጢ መስኮት ብቴፕ ዝተቐመጠ ምልክት ካብ ጽርግያ ንምርኣይ ኣጸጋሚ ይገብሮ። ኣብ ውሽጢ ቅድሚት መስትያት ናይታ ኣብ መእተዊ መንገዲካ ደው ኢላ ዘላ ተሽከርካሪት (ብዘይካ ናይ ቅድሚት መስኮትካ ወይ ናይ ቅድሚት ማዕጾኻ) ኣብ ዳሽቦርድ ጸፍሒ ዝኾነ ንድሕሪት ዝምለስ ቀጠልያ "OK" ወይ ቀይሕ "HELP NEEDED" ዝብል ጽሑፍ ምቕማጥ ንናይ ከባቢ CERT ስካውት ጋንታታትን ዝሓልፉ ሞተር መጥፋእቲ ሓዊን ካብ ጽርግያ ብዘይ ዕንቅፋት፣ ኩርናዕ ዘለዎ ትርኢት ይህቦም፣ ዋላ ብለይቲ ብሬትሮ-ሪፍሌክቲቭ ቴፕ ምስ ዝድወስ ይሰርሕ።

መዓስ ናይ ከባቢ CERT ጉጅለ ናይ ሓደ ገዛ ቆጻሪ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ጋዝ ክዓጽዎ ኣለዎ፣ ስለምንታይከ ኣብቲ ብሎክ ዘሎ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ቆጻሪ ብኣውቶማቲክ ዘይንዓጽዎ?¶

You should immediately turn a house's exterior natural gas supply valve 90 degrees perpendicular to the pipe using a non-sparking wrench ONLY if you smell the rotten-egg odor of mercaptan gas, hear a hissing or roaring sound at the meter, see the small fractional test dials on the face of the meter spinning rapidly while all appliances are off, or see visible structural collapse or fire at the house. Never shut off undamaged gas meters automatically "just in case": once a gas valve is turned off, all pilot lights extinguish, and turning the valve back on yourself can fill the house with explosive unlit gas. Only a utility technician can legally purge and relight a shut-off meter, which can take weeks after a major earthquake.

How do we convince private or elderly neighbors to participate in a Vulnerable Neighbor Check-In Registry?¶

Older adults and disabled neighbors often hesitate to share medical or solo-living details because they do not want their personal information posted on an online spreadsheet or public HOA list. Using the "Double-Envelope Paper Protocol" solves this completely: each participating neighbor writes their emergency needs (such as an electric oxygen concentrator, refrigerated insulin, mobility device, or key lockbox code) on a physical index card, and all cards are sealed inside a tamper-evident envelope signed across the flap by two witnesses, marked "To Be Opened ONLY During an Area-Wide Disaster or Grid Outage Exceeding 4 Hours." Their privacy stays 100 percent protected every day of the year while guaranteeing a fast check-in when the grid fails.

ስለምንታይ ካብ 15 ክሳብ 20 ተኸታተልቲ ገዛውቲ ንሓደ ናይ ከባቢ ሓድሕዳዊ ሓገዝ ጉጅለ ምቹእ ስፍሓት ዘለዎም?¶

ድሕሪ ሓደጋ ብፕሮግራም ካርታ ጎረቤትካ (MYN) (MYN)ን FEMAን ዝተገብረ መጽናዕቲ ከም ዘመልክቶ፡ ኣብቲ ድሕሪ ዓቢ ምንቅጥቃጥ ምድሪ ወይ ዕስለ ኣንበጣ ኣብ ዝካየድ ህውከት ዝመልኦ ቀዳሞት 60 ደቓይቕ፡ ክልተ ሰባት ዝሓቖፋ ወለንተኛታት መሓዙት ጋንታታት ብጭቡጥ ብእግሮም ክኸዱ፡ ክምርምሩን ክሕግዙን ዝኽእሉ ካብ 15 ክሳብ 20 ገዛውቲ ጥራይ ኣብ ውሽጢ ቅጽበታዊ ስእላዊ ምርኣይ ኣብ ውሽጢ ጎደናኦም ብሎክ ክሕግዙ ይኽእሉ። ንኡስ ዞባኹም 200 ኣባይቲ እንተሃልይዎ፡ ሓደ ግዙፍ 200 ገዛውቲ ዘለዎ ኮሚቴ ኣይትምስርቱ፤ ኣብ ክንድኡስ፡ ነቲ ንኡስ ክፍሊ ኣብ ዓሰርተ ተኸታተልቲ 20 ገዛውቲ ዘለዎም ፖድስ ምቕማጥ፡ ነፍሲ ወከፎም ናይ ገዛእ ርእሶም ናይ ደገ ብሎክ ምትእኽኻብ ቦታን ብሎክ ካፕቴንን ኣብ ናይ ሓባር GMRS ዎኪ-ቶኪ ቻነል ብሓባር ዝተኣሳሰሩ ኣለዎም።

What should a 2-person neighborhood scout team do if they find a neighbor trapped inside a heavily damaged or leaning house?¶

ብመሰረት ወግዓዊ ሕግታት ድሕነት FEMA CERT Light Search and Rescue፡ ወለንተኛታት ጎረባብቲ ናብ "ቀይሕ ምልክት ዘለዎ" ኣዝዩ ዝተጎድአ መዋቕር ፈጺሞም ክኣትዉ የብሎምን (ዝኾነ ህንጻ ​​ጽግዕተኛ ወይ ዝፈረሰ ጽዕነት ዝስከም መንደቕ ዘለዎ፡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ርእሱ ዝተቐመጠ ዝተነጸለ ናይ ሕጡብ ሽቓቕ ዘለዎ፡ ዝወደቐ ህያው መስመራት ሓይሊ ኤሌክትሪክ ነቲ መዋቕር ዝትንክፍ፡ ወይ ድማ ሓያል ውሽጣዊ ተፈጥሮኣዊ ጋዝ ምፍሳስ)። ብዘይ ከበድቲ መሳርሒታት ሾሪንግ ናብ ዝፈርስ መዋቕር ምእታው፡ ንወለንተኛታት ኣድሓንቲ ናብ ተወሳኺ ግዳያት ይቕይሮም። ኣብ ክንድኡስ፡ ውሑስ እንተኾይኑ፡ ነቲ ናይ ደገ መለክዒ ጋዝን ቫልቭ ማይን ካብ ደገ ዓጽዎ፡ ነቲ መረባ ብናይ ጥንቃቐ ቴፕ ከበብዎ፡ ምስቲ ተዓጽዩ ዘሎ ጎረቤት ካብ ውሑስ ርሕቀት ኣብ ደገ ኣዘራርብዎ፡ ንህድኣት ንኽህልዎም፡ ከምኡ’ውን ልክዕ ኣድራሻን መጻወድያ ቦታን ብመንገዲ GMRS ወይ ሃም ሬድዮ ናብ ፕሮፌሽናል ጉጅለታት ምድላይን ምድሓንን ከበድቲ ከተማታት (USAR) ኣመሓላልፉ።

ምንጭታትን ወግዓዊ መምርሕታትን¶

• ፌደራላዊ ኤጀንሲ ምሕደራ ህጹጽ እዋን (FEMA, ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣመሪካ): ናይ ማሕበረሰብ ህጹጽ ምላሽ ጉጅለ (CERT) መሰረታዊ ስልጠና ተሳታፊ መምርሒ (ኣሃዱታት 1 ክሳብ 9: ድልውነት ሓደጋ፣ ትካል CERT/ICS፣ ሕክምናዊ ስርሒታት ሓደጋ/START Triage፣ ከምኡ’ውን ብርሃን ምድላይን ምድሓንን)።
• ክፍሊ ህጹጽ ምሕደራ ክፍሊ ወተሃደራዊ ክፍሊ ዋሽንግተን (EMD, ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣመሪካ): መምርሒ ፕሮግራም ከባቢኻ ኣብ ካርታ ኣስፍር (MYN)፡ ድሕሪ ሓደጋ ብቕጽበት ክትወስዶም ዘለካ 9 ስጉምትታት፡ መስኮት OK/HELP ፕላካርድ፡ ከምኡ’ውን ዩቲሊቲ ካርታ።
• ፓሲፊክ ጋዝን ኤሌክትሪክን (PG&E) & ደቡባዊ ካሊፎርንያ ጋዝ ኩባንያ (SoCalGas): ድሕሪ ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት ተፈጥሮኣዊ ጋዝ መለክዒ መርመራን 90-ዲግሪ ቀረብ ቫልቭ ምዕጻው ድሕነት መምርሒ.
• ቤት ጽሕፈት ካቢነ ሚኒስተራት ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ & ሃገራዊ ማዕቀፍ ጽንዓት (ዓባይ ብሪጣንያ): ንህጹጽ ኩነታት ምድላው: መሳርሒ ውጥን ህጹጽ እዋን ማሕበረሰብን ፕሮቶኮላት ደገፍ ተቓላዕቲ ነበርትን።
• ሃገራዊ ኤጀንሲ ምሕደራ ህጹጽ እዋን (NEMA) & ቤት ጽሕፈት ምሕደራ ህጹጽ እዋን ዞባ ዌሊንግተን (WREMO, New Zealand): መምርሒ ህጹጽ ማእከል ማሕበረሰብ: ድሕሪ ዓቢ ምንቅጥቃጥ ምድሪ ብደረጃ ጎደና ዝግበር ሓድሕዳዊ ሓገዝ ምውዳብ።

ተዛመድቲ መምርሒታት¶

• ናይ ከባቢ CERT ምድላው: FRS/GMRS ሬድዮ ቻነል ትልሚ: ተቓላዕቲ ጎረቤት መዝገብ: ከምኡውን cribbing cache
• ናይ ከባቢ CERT ሓድሕዳዊ ሓገዝ፣ ብሎክ ካፕቴን ፕላን፣ ከምኡ እውን ተቓላዕቲ ጎረባብቲ መዝገብ
• ምንቅጥቃጥ መሬት ገዛ ምምላስ: ምትእስሳር መሞቒ ማይ: መልሕቕ ፍርናሽ: ከምኡውን መፍትሕ ጋዝ
• ስንክልናን ሕክምናዊ ድሌታትን ኣብ ህጹጽ ኩነታት
• ኣረጋውያን ዓበይቲ ህጹጽ ውጥን