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| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
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34 |
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11 |
7 |
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24 |
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6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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6 |
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16 |
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10 |
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4 |
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12 |
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4 |
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11 |
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11 |
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| NED |
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Games spur preparedness
Local churches put together disaster plans
By Carrie A. Moore
Deseret News religion writer
With two separate perimeters of chain-link fencing, armed National Guard troops and hundreds of local volunteers scrutinizing every ticketholder to Rice-Eccles Stadium, most questions about security for the site of the Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies can be answered with nary a glance.
But at least one church near the stadium has developed its own disaster plan just in case all of the security measures fail to prevent the unthinkable. Other local churches and the University of Utah have used the Games as an impetus to boost their own disaster planning.
First Unitarian Church sits about a half-block south of the stadium, 569 S. 1300 East. While church members have known for years that parking and access would be dramatically affected during the Games, its ministers and the church board became serious about disaster preparation after Sept. 11.
Vicki Bennett, a member of the church board, said she and others met with Peter Van Hook, a Church World Service disaster response consultant who was called to the site of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. For a solid week he helped local clergy and community leaders organize themselves to action.
"He said, 'Don't plan just for the two weeks of the Olympics, but for the 7.0 earthquake that we've all been warned about.' "
As a result, the church designated several members as Olympic coordinators, each charged with organizing members by ZIP code. The resulting telephone tree should allow members to communicate and offer support to fellow Unitarians.
A new three-level emergency response also tells members how to deal with a range of possible scenarios.
The plan was presented Jan. 20, and members were asked to make personal disaster preparation, including compiling a 72-hour emergency kit and a first aid kit, developing a working knowledge of utility shutoff procedures and arranging for alternate child care.
Van Hook warned such measures "should be in place no matter what. It really made sense," Bennett said.
Now the ZIP code groups — consisting of about 20 families each — have been asked to meet regularly.
"Frankly, it's been good to look at what our Mormon friends and neighbors are doing. When it comes to helping each other and what to do in a disaster, that's a great model for us," Bennett said.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are routinely encouraged to prepare for both personal and community calamities by storing food, water and other life essentials and networking with their neighbors.
While potential terrorism has boosted Olympic security preparations to new levels, it wasn't the only potential threat for which U. officials have been concerned.
University officials realized in 1998 they might have to deal with an earthquake during the Games, and they set out to find funding to build a real-time earthquake information system in Utah.
The $1.2 million system is in place, and Utah seismologists have been on duty seven days a week around-the-clock during the Games, just in case.
Walter Arabasz, director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, said there is a 1-in-3,500 probability of a magnitude 7 or stronger quake hitting the Wasatch fault in or near the Ogden-Salt Lake City-Provo corridor during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Chances of a magnitude 5 or greater shock are about 1 in 1,700, and 1 in 70 for a magnitude 4 quake or greater during the same time period. Even such minor shaking could endanger alpine venues or transportation corridors by triggering avalanches.
Local disaster officials have long warned that a 7.5-magnitude quake could kill up to 7,600 people, injure 44,000 others and cause about $12 billion in damage.
While the Games were an impetus to accelerate plans for building the monitoring system, the primary motivation was future readiness.
The same is true of other area churches that have dusted off or updated their disaster preparedness efforts.
Monica Howa-Johnson, who has coordinated Catholic Olympic preparations, said the church partnered with the Red Cross to designate churches and schools near venues as shelters in an emergency.
"The point of it was a legacy where even after Olympics come and go, they would still be available as emergency shelters if needed for anything from a house fire to a major disaster," she said.
Several parishioners went through Red Cross training, and Catholic clergy received new chaplaincy cards which would allow them access to a disaster site if needed.
The Episcopal Diocese also hosted its own preparedness training seminar and invited representatives from other faiths, said spokesman Dan Webster.
The national church office sent a three-person team to Salt Lake City in late November, whose members shared experiences from the disaster response to Sept. 11.
Several clergy, including Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, have taken or will take Red Cross spiritual care team training, Webster said.
"That certification became invaluable for chaplains in New York City," he said.
Other planning included the designation of the Cathedral Church of St. Mark and the nearby Jubilee Center as triage centers should the need arise.
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com
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February 23, 2002
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