Disaster

The Newport Beach Fire Department will host a workshop Wednesday night about preparing for an earthquake or tsunami. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the City Hall Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, according to a city news release. Residents from across Orange County are invited to attend. More information is available by calling (949) 644-3112 or emailing nbcert@nbfd.net . - Jeremiah Dobruck Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck

Listen to the radio or other media for information on where to go and what to do. Having a battery-powered radio is a must in case the power goes out. Design a family emergency plan. Pick two places to meet in case of an emergency: one outside your house and another outside your neighborhood. Designate an out-of-state friend or relative to be your family contact in case of emergency. Keep important papers in a safe place. Familiarize yourself with how to evacuate your home or office.

Some players hung their heads and the coach called the whole evening a total disaster. And that was the winning team. Indeed, Friday night's 21-17 nonleague triumph over a valiant Marina High squad at Westminster High was far from typical for Newport Harbor. Newport Harbor senior quarterback Tom Jackson, however, prevented even deeper gloom for the Sailors by triggering a dramatic game-winning drive in the final 1:01. It capped a strong performance by the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Jackson, who threw three touchdown passes and also tossed a two-point conversion.

Despite mankind’s supreme technological advances, we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature. The recent magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile shocked an already horrified world reeling from the earlier disaster in Haiti. Americans can be proud of the fact that both government agencies and private citizens have donated manpower, life-saving food, water and medical supplies and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Haitian relief fund. We are now stepping forward to assist Chile as well.

Whether it’s for a college applications or high school graduation requirements, nowadays kids everywhere are volunteering community service hours. On Monday, a group of boys were doing that very thing when they stopped by the Bayview Landing Senior Apartment Homes in Newport Beach to hand out disaster kits. Except they weren’t keeping a precise tally on hours for school credit; they were doing it just because. “It feels like more of an accomplishment than when you’re doing it for a job. When you’re working for the money,” said 15-year-old Nick McGuiness, a freshman at Corona del Mar High School.

The Newport Beach Fire Department will host an Earthquake Awareness Workshop today from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Newport beach City Hall Council Chambers. Instructors will cover the basics of earthquake preparation, including the type of faults that flow under Newport, the city's plan during a natural disaster and what residents can do to prepare. It will be similar to the recent tsunami workshop. Attendants will receive information on disaster supply kits and how to secure home appliances.

The 500-page "Basic Emergency Plan" is the city's bible in disasters. "Disaster preparedness guidelines are for the residents, but the emergency plan is for the staff," City Manager Ken Frank said. The plan spells out what is expected of each city department in the event of a man-made or natural disaster, right down to who will handle public information and the press. Police Capt. Danell Adams was the face and voice of emergency operations for displaced families and the media after the June 1 landslide.

Katie Eing, Newport Beach’s emergency services coordinator, stepped to the front and said, “In the event of the big earthquake, be prepared to take care of yourself for up to three days.” If I had any doubt that it would be worthwhile to spend four Saturdays in training, she and Matt Brisbois, Community Emergency Response Team coordinator and veteran lifeguard, dispelled them right up front with a clear overview of Newport Beach geography and disaster scenarios.

Marisa O'Neil Costa Mesa residents Diane and Paul Hill are prepared for the worst. They have CPR training, a grab bag of important documents ready to take in an emergency and two-way radios to communicate with if the phones go out. They even have a swimming pool that can provide a source of water to douse a fire in a pinch. And they want others to be ready for the unexpected, too. "People think they're prepared on their own," said 40-year resident Diane Hill, co-chair of the Costa Mesa Citizen Corps Volunteer Management Team.

The Newport Beach Fire Department will host a workshop Wednesday night about preparing for an earthquake or tsunami. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the City Hall Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, according to a city news release. Residents from across Orange County are invited to attend. More information is available by calling (949) 644-3112 or emailing nbcert@nbfd.net . - Jeremiah Dobruck Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck

Newport Beach community members gathered mid-morning Tuesday to watch a live-stream of a White House event honoring a Newport Beach Fire Department employee for his disaster-preparedness efforts. Matt Brisbois, a life safety specialist with the Fire Department, received the Champion of Change award along with 17 others from across the country at the Washington, D.C., ceremony. He was recognized for his work overseeing the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, program in Newport Beach over the past seven years.

A long-time community group that promotes the general welfare of Newport Beach is hosting a disaster preparedness presentation Wednesday. The Speak Up Newport event will feature speakers Matt Brisbois, a life safety specialist with the Newport Beach Fire Department, and Katie Eing, the emergency services coordinator for the city, according to an event flier. A reception is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. in the city's Civic Center community room, 100 Civic Center Drive. The program will follow at 6 p.m. A tour of the city's new Emergency Operations Center, typically closed to the public, will follow the presentation.

Jay Peeters prefers not to discuss his time in the United States Army. He admits, "I've been shot at and blown up," and leaves it at that. A remnant of his 20 years of service, though, is an appreciation for the American Red Cross. While Peeters was an officer, the organization hosted a funeral for his colleague's deceased relative, helped pay bills and provided physical and mental healthcare. The son of a Vietnam veteran, Peeters, 46, is determined not to let people forget that their lives are being defended all year round.

Donning green hardhats and vests, a group of six worked together to lift a wooden platform Saturday morning, wedging wooden blocks under the pallet to pull their victim to safety. The CERT volunteers practiced their cribbing and shoring skills so that in the event of a disaster, they could safely lift a bookcase or couch off an injured victim. Fire engineer Jimmy Strack watched over the group at the Santa Ana Heights Fire Station as they rescued a rope dummy made of folded fire hose.

From the team that produced"Paranormal Activity"comes another scary film that takes the well-worn path of horror movie clichés. "Chernobyl Diaries"follows a group of young adults seeking a serious adventure vacation. They get much more than they bargained for on this trip to Russia. They hire an underground guide who takes them to a radioactive ghost town near the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Once they arrive, menacing forests, deserted buildings and growling beasts provide the predictable background.

Organizers of the famed Newport Beach-to-Ensenada sailing regatta were stunned by the mysterious loss of four crew members aboard a 37-foot boat that disappeared in mid-race, marking the first fatalities in the event's 65-year history. While the U.S. Coast Guard was still investigating the accident, regatta organizers said they believed the boat was hit and demolished by a much larger ship - perhaps a freighter or tanker - passing in the dark early Saturday. The boat disappeared from the online tracking system around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

The mannequin in the pale gold and embroidered silk gown stands in a corner of the gallery. Her head-to-toe ensemble of the same color is highlighted by identical fruit patterns woven into her gown's delicate fabric. She also wears a cotton and taffeta French hat while toting a parasol. The display is supposed to evoke a female passenger in First Class on her way to tea aboard the R.M.S. Titanic. The gown, circa 1916, is an original outfit. The real-life woman who designed it was known as Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon.

The Newport Beach Fire Department will host a free disaster preparedness expo Saturday at the Newport Beach Central Library. Disaster supply kit vendors will be at the event, which is from 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Attendees can receive information about building a disaster supply kit and how to prepare families and neighbors in the case of a disaster, according to a Fire Department news release. The event is open to all Orange County residents. — Lauren Williams Twitter: @lawilliams30

Earthquakes and hurricanes in the East. Fires in Texas. No matter where you turn, Mother Nature is putting police and fire departments to the test. If a major disaster struck Southern California, would you know what to do? The Newport Beach Fire Department is offering disaster preparedness classes twice a week on weekdays or on a Saturday-only schedule. Starting at 7 p.m. Sept. 22, Newport will start its Tuesday-Thursday Community Emergency Response Team classes that teach students everything from search-and-rescue and disaster psychology to CPR and how to put out a fire.