Call for Disaster Training Sessions

I had the opportunity to attend the second annual Crime Prevention Community Fair sponsored by the South Pasadena Police Department on Oct. 19. It was a most productive and informative event, and Chief Thomas Mahony and many co-sponsors should be congratulated for their efforts.

I was especially pleased that the event organizers provided information about earthquake and disaster preparedness. It all seems so appropriate in light of the terrible disaster that struck Oakland over the weekend.

As we all know, in recent years earthquake/disaster preparedness has taken on additional importance. In Southern California, the principal question currently being bandied about by many seismologists, geologists and others is not whether or not a major earthquake will strike California, but rather when it will strike.

Since being well-informed, as well as being well-prepared, are keys to survival both during and after an earthquake, it would be useful if a series of emergency readiness training sessions were offered throughout other cities in the San Gabriel Valley.

Such training could use existing emergency personnel offered at the local level. The training would focus on how citizens can become self-sufficient during an earthquake.

Undoubtedly, some people will argue that such actions are unnecessary and the views of an alarmist. Yet anyone who has suffered through the last major earthquake in Los Angeles, Mexico City, or most recently in San Francisco, will acknowledge that when disaster strikes, it is too late to start making preparations for survival.

Hopefully, other cities in the San Gabriel Valley will follow the lead of South Pasadena.

RODOLFO LEYVA

Los Angeles