Disaster planning in San Francisco’s Chinatown trains, empowers community members as responders during first 72 hours

San Francisco’s Chinatown is the most densely populated neighborhood west of New York City. In addition, more than 80% of San Francisco Chinatown residents speak a language other than English at home (about half are monolingual Chinese-speaking), nearly three-quarters of all households have limited English proficiency, many buildings have not been retrofitted for earthquakes, many residents live in single room occupancy units, and roughly 20% of residents are over 65 years – many of whom are medication-dependent and/or have reduced mobility.

For over the past 20 years, NICOS Chinese Health Coalition has grown from a partnership of 5 founding organizations to a coalition of more than 30 nonprofit and private organizations representing and caring for Chinatown’s Chinese community. The 5 founding organizations, whose names form the acronym NICOS, are: North East Medical Services, IPA, now known as Chinese Community Health Care Association, Chinese Hospital, On-Lok Senior Health Services and Self-Help for the Elderly.

NICOS has taken on a variety of projects over the years, including the creation of the Chinatown Disaster Preparedness Committee after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to address emergency preparedness issues in the neighborhood. The committee steers the Chinatown Disaster Response Project, which trains Chinatown residents to prepare for independent survival in the first 72 hours following a disaster through emergency response classes, HAM radio operation classes, and drills. The committee has also developed multiple bilingual preparedness materials.

In 2007, NICOS and the committee developed the San Francisco Chinatown Disaster Response Plan.

The easy-to-read pages alternate between English and Chinese, providing a fully translated, easily navigable document. The plan:

• Defines geographical boundaries of Chinatown

• Lists partners

• Specifies command center location

• Indicates which health centers will manage serious injuries or provide minor first aid

• Outlines process for activating the response plan 

• Details roles and responsibilities of responders

In the wake of a disaster many community-based organizations are likely to be overwhelmed by trying to meet the needs of their clients as well as unable to deploy staff to the command center. In addition, if the disaster happens outside of normal business hours, human resources from local agencies may not be immediately available to respond. As a result, the committee focuses on training and empowering local residents and community members to fulfill the roles outlined in the plan, including functioning as block captains and runners. The plan specifies the following:

Block captains
Immediately after a disaster block captains:

• Canvass their designated areas

• Determine the extent of the damage

• Secure the perimeter of damaged areas 

• Provide status reports to the community disaster coordinator

• Request supplies

• Provide information regarding shelter needs or availability 

• Assist in transporting injured victims to the appropriate facilities

Runners
Runners deliver messages to and from the block captains, liaison officers, community disaster coordinator, command center personnel, and social service organizations.