Stations, we have Carl Cook, last named spelled, C O O K. Mr. Cook is
the Mitigation Director for FEMA Region X. Mr. Cook has five tracks for
us today on FEMA's Mitigation Survey and "Make and Impact Week
Observances".

In track one Mr. Cook tells us what FEMA wants the public to know about
the recent FEMA Survey. The track runs 28 seconds and the out cue is
"...those people who didn't."

COOK:

What FEMA would like the public to know is that a recent survey, that we
commissioned, found while a majority of people are aware of the natural
hazards they may be subjected to, they underestimate their ability to
really make a difference. And we find that kind of disturbing because
the Nisqually Earthquake that we sustained in February showed us that
people who had taken action sustained much less damage than those people
who didn't.

In track two, Mr. Cook gives some examples of typical natural disasters
faced by the Pacific Northwest and how residents mitigate their worst
effects. The track runs one minute and four seconds and the out cue is
"...get you through a power outage"

COOK:

We've known for a long, long time that we're prone to earthquakes here.
Though, recently, we haven't seen that many, we know that we get
flooding, and most of the rest of the country sees that, too, because we
get a lot of rain out here in the wintertime. Actually, we've found that
the flood hazard is the most prevalent of our natural disaster events.
But, we see that we sustain much less damage out here than in some other
parts of the country because the flooding happens almost on an annual
basis and so people are very used to it and they have already taken
mitigation measures.

We also sustain high wind damage which, wind events, which cut off the
power frequently. But, fortunately, this part of the country is not
subject to real extreme weather like very low temperatures during the
wintertime. So, when we have power outages, simply pulling out the
camping equipment, that we all use here in the Northwest all summer
long, will generally get you through the power outage.

In track three, Mr. Cook gives some example of successful mitigation
stories from the Feb. 28^th^ 2001, Nisqually Earthquake. The track runs
one minute and twenty-two seconds, the out cue is "...most visually
impacting examples."

COOK:

One of the most visual ones that I have seen myself, and there've been
dozens and dozens collected was, on a very personal, there was a woman
who was having her water heater replaced and, when she was doing that,
the workman who was replacing it for her had been to a class talking
about retrofitting techniques for earthquake hazards. And he said, "Gee,
for an extra \$15, you know, I can strap this water heater to the wall;
do you want me to do it or not?" And the woman said, "Well, I guess so,
it's probably worth \$15." And he did that. During the Nisqually
earthquake, her structure suffered severe damage, but not to her water
heater. And it wasn't just the fact that the water heater was not
damaged and she still had hot water, but it was a gas water heater, so
that if it tipped over, there would be the chance of a fire burning her
house down.

What we found was that there were a lot of people here in the Northwest
who have been listening, have been retrofitting their homes and didn't
sustain damage during this earthquake.

The city of Mercer Island retrofitted, over the last couple of years,
all of its water tanks. Had they not been structurally retrofitted, they
could have collapsed, not only losing the water supply for the island,
but washing down through an elementary school that's just downhill,
down-slope of those. So those are the two most visually-impacting
examples.

In Track four, Mr. Cook talks about the Mitigation Partnerships in the
Pacific Northwest. The track runs forty-four seconds and the out cue is
"...where most of it is done."

COOK:

Within the last several years, the partnerships have been centered
around Project Impact communities; and those have been our largest
communities. However, the mitigation partnerships have really been going
on for a much longer time than just the last several years. It's been a
decade or two that mitigation's being pushed here in the Northwest. And,
we think one of the best mechanisms for doing that is the formation of
local partnerships. The best mitigation occurs at the local level, as
opposed to the State or Federal level. It isn't saying that those higher
levels of government aren't effective but, in terms of actually getting
mitigation done through partnerships, it's the local level where most of
it is done.

In the Fifth and final track, Mr. Cook talks about why FEMA decided to
have a "Make An Impact Week" and what FEMA hopes to accomplish. The
track runs twenty-two seconds and the out cue is "...on our communities
and our citizens."

COOK:

"Make An Impact" is really targeted at the Project Impact communities
nationwide to try and kind of re-energize their efforts to focus local
attention on the fact that people can make a difference if they pay
attention to their hazards before the event occurs. We're using the
"Make An Impact Week" as something that's much broader than just Project
Impact communities. We want all communities to pay attention and realize
that, with a little forethought and a little bit of effort, they can
drastically reduce the impact that natural hazards will have on their
communities and their citizens.