ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Team That Plays for Big Stakes

Huntington Beach has more than its share of natural enemies: the Santa Ana River, which can flood; the occasional tornado, like the one two years ago; and, of course, earthquakes. So it’s good to see the city promoting its innovative program of neighborhood emergency teams.

Rancho Cucamonga was the first California city to institute a Citizen Emergency Response Team program. Huntington Beach was the second, and it continues to expand its effort, begun after a tornado struck a mobile home park. Each team has at least 10 people, including a first-aid specialist and a ham radio operator. In the event of a natural disaster, team members will conduct searches and rescues, provide first aid and patrol their neighborhoods for natural gas leaks.

One state official has praised Huntington Beach and offered food for thought for other communities: “In case of a disaster, government can’t do it all.”

Glorria Morrison, who is emergency services coordinator, says the city has about 30 teams and needs about 70 more to cover all neighborhoods. The program is a bargain, too. It costs about $6,000 a year, which covers instruction and printing and mailing literature. One money-saving move is sending flyers home from school to let parents know about the program. In training team members, instructors note that a major earthquake can cut off electricity and water and make roads impassable.

Assuming that structures will be unsafe, outdoor areas are designated for neighborhood command posts and the teams often practice outdoors. That’s reminiscent of Tokyo, where foreigners are invariably impressed by earthquake planning.

Residents of Japan’s capital are told exactly where to go when a quake hits, and the government has designated safe areas such as open parks throughout the city. Most residents take part in major earthquake drills at least once a year, often on the anniversary of the Sept. 1, 1923, earthquake that struck the Tokyo-Yokohama area, killing about 200,000.

Huntington Beach is on the major Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault. It’s good to see the city preparing for a big one.