CITY SEEKS METHODS FOR DISASTER EDUCATION

Cape Girardeau is looking for ways to educate the public on potential disasters.

The Project Impact education and public outreach committee met Tuesday to begin planning projects for the disaster-preparedness initiative.

All six of the Project Impact committees are setting project priorities and coming up with cost estimates for those projects, said Walter Denton, who is overseeing Project Impact for the city.

The projects must be submitted to the federal government by the end of November for funding, Denton said.

Mark Winkler of the State Emergency Management Agency said the education committee has to work to make sure the public is prepared for a disaster without creating a public panic, as happened with Iben Browning's earthquake prediction in 1990.

"I guess the question is, how do we do this without creating hysteria?" Winkler said. "If you start talking earthquakes specifically, that's really delicate. This is an all-hazard approach, so we can't really focus in only on earthquakes, even though that's the worst case scenario we'll ever be faced with."

Winkler also stressed the need for individuals to be prepared to face the worst even as businesses and public agencies work out their disaster response plans.

He said it is important to work with schools and other agencies to make sure the preparedness message filters through the community.

"Eventually each individual person will have to be targeted," Winkler said.

Among the suggestions for educational activities:

-- Target businesses, schools and other organizations for presentations on disaster planning, drills and mitigation.

-- Sponsor monthly meetings, programs or events relating to different disaster preparedness or safety topics.

-- Work with other Project Impact committees to help businesses set up disaster response plans.

-- Gather information on resources available locally, including identifying emergency shelters.

-- Set up a system of storage for emergency supplies, such as water, food, radios and emergency generators, to be stored in public buildings.

-- Put together a comprehensive, documentary-type video on the city's Project Impact preparations for distribution to other communities interested in becoming disaster resistant.

In July, Cape Girardeau became the first community in Missouri to receive the Project Impact designation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A signing ceremony with FEMA director James Lee Witt has been tentatively scheduled for Feb. 3.

The designation makes the city eligible for $300,000 to $500,000 in federal disaster-preparedness funds.