In the wake of this year’s tragically devastating natural disasters -- the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, the earthquake in Pakistan -- we are all acutely aware of the need to be prepared to take care of ourselves following a disaster.

The fact is we live in earthquake country here in the Pacific Northwest and experts say it’s a matter of when, not if, the big one hits. One of my priorities is to make Seattle the most prepared city in America. As a city we are making progress: we have three new programs in place aimed at making sure we will have plenty of water for firefighting and household use in the event of a disaster, and we’re installing emergency generators at our six community centers which could serve as emergency shelters following a major disaster.

No matter how well our city infrastructure is prepared, the very nature of a disaster is its unpredictability and we may find ourselves cut off from basic services. That’s why we all need to be prepared to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. The City of Seattle has a public outreach program on personal emergency preparedness. In the next year, we will also train all City employees on personal preparedness. In the meantime, I encourage all of you take advantage of the information on our Web site.

- Mayor Greg Nickels