CAPE NAMED FIRST DISASTER RESISTANT CITY; PREPAREDNESS FUNDS A REWARD

Cape Girardeau is Missouri's first disaster resistant community.

City officials hope the designation will help them do more to prepare for earthquakes, floods and any other potential disaster.

Mayor Al Spradling III said: "I think it's going to give us the opportunity to be recognized as a community that is working toward preparedness for disasters and also give us the ability, if we are effective in the various grants and funding available, to continue mitigation either in the earthquake or flood areas. We're going to be one of a few cities in the United States, the only one in Missouri, that is participating in this program. I think it's going to be a high visibility program."

Gov. Mel Carnahan Tuesday signed a proclamation in Jefferson City recognizing the city for its disaster preparedness efforts. A number of city officials attended the proclamation signing.

The community designation is made through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact program.

Last year the city and Cape Girardeau School District shared a $25,000 grant geared toward earthquake preparedness.

Ken Eftink, the city's planning coordinator, said the disaster resistant designation will allow the city to seek federal and state grants to help fund disaster preparedness projects.

The city already has identified some projects for which funding might be available. A tornado warning system might be a possibility if funding is available, Spradling said.

"It's certainly something for us to look at as a means of disaster resistance," he said.

The city installed a tornado warning system several years ago, but it didn't work because many people couldn't hear the warnings indoors. Other types of warning systems might work better, Spradling said.

In this region, he said, tornadoes are probably a more immediate threat than either earthquakes or floods. "We can see the tornado coming and get at least some warning out, so I think that is something we can look at as part of this overall program," Spradling said.

He also mentioned setting up emergency generators such as those at the water treatment plant to protect city services and an emergency communications system in the event telephone lines are knocked out.

There are other possibilities as well, said Eftink, including providing seismic protection for the city's water storage tanks so that during an earthquake an automatic shut-off valve prevents water from draining if a main breaks.

The city has applied to the State Emergency Management Agency for grant funding for the water tank project.

The city has not identified specific projects yet, Eftink said.

The proclamation recognizes the city's proximity to the New Madrid Fault line and the Mississippi River and the flood damage sustained in 1993 and 1995.

A number of city projects were cited as part of Cape Girardeau's designation:

-- The flood-control project, including a 1988 sales tax approved by voters to fund improvements along Cape La Croix Creek and Walker Branch; the city's $2.5 million flood-buyout program; demolition of 30 flood-damaged homes after the 1993 flood; and grant-funded improvements to prevent flood damage at the water treatment plant, waste-water treatment plant and industries in Smeltervile.

-- The combined sewer overflow program funded by a quarter-cent sales tax approved in 1994 to separate sewer and storm-water lines.

-- Emergency power generators at the water and waste-water treatment plants.

-- A joint resolution with Jackson to study the possibility of linking the cities' water systems. The link would ensure water supply in the event of a disaster;

-- City building codes and seismic standards contributed to an Insurance Service Organization rating of 5.

-- A city resolution and efforts to include businesses and residents in disaster prevention efforts.

Eftink said the city has set up a steering committee made up of city and business leaders.

"One of the things we've not really looked at so much in the past is the business losses," Eftink said. "They can impact our community so much for so long after the event, and so much of it can be prevented with a little preplanning and mitigation and education."