[May 27, 2012] Ready to react Tweet May 27, 2012 (The Press Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Bennett Valley resident Tom Sawyer has seen what can happen to a community in a natural disaster. Sawyer once helped develop a private 300-acre island off the northeast coast of Antigua in the Caribbean, which is now a luxury resort known as Jumby Bay. In 1995, Hurricane Luis wreaked havoc on Antigua, leveling homes and leaving people with nothing. "The next day it looked like a D8 Caterpillar ran over everything," Sawyer recalled. Today, the 67-year-old electrical engineer is committed to making sure that if an emergency of a similar scale strikes Santa Rosa, his neighbors will be ready. As the command-center coordinator for his small neighborhood off Yulupa Avenue, Sawyer has worked hard over the past few years to get his neighbors organized to help one another in a major emergency. Whether it's food, water, communications or medical aid, Sawyer wants to make sure his neighbors can rely on one another in the hours and days following a major disaster. "If you're self-contained and you have these basic services within your own neighborhood, then you'll be able to provide those services rather than expecting they are going to come from an outside source," Sawyer explains. Sawyer, who has lived in Santa Rosa for about 25 years, says he began taking emergency preparedness to heart after the 2008 financial crash. When it seemed like the wheels were falling off the economy, Sawyer realized just how fragile the systems are that hold society together. A major earthquake is the kind of event the city needs to be most prepared for, he said. But there are others, such as a solar storm like the one known as the Carrington Event in 1859. The resulting disturbance to the Earth's magnetic field was so strong that it knocked out telegraph systems around the globe. Sawyer shudders to think about the kind of impact a similar storm would have on modern society with its reliance on ATM cards and electronic gadgets. So he has encouraged residents to stockpile enough food and water for weeks of self-reliance. He's also invested in ham radio equipment, including a 38-foot antenna on the roof of his home, which also serves as the neighborhood's emergency command center. The equipment -- backed up by a generator -- allows Sawyer to communicate with city emergency personnel and other radio operators around the globe. Thanks to a small grant from the city, the heads of five neighborhood committees also have access to two-way radios to allow them to communicate with one another in an emergency. The effort is similar to the one started in Oakmont called Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE), but has been adapted to meet the 78-home neighborhood's needs. Ed Buonaccorsi, the city's emergency preparedness coordinator and a neighbor of Sawyer's, said the work he's done to bring the neighborhood together is impressive. "He's a huge asset," Buonaccorsi said. Often Sawyer can often be found on an old church pew under a tree in his front yard, waving to and chatting with neighbors and other passers-by. He even waves to people he doesn't know, just because he likes the neighborly atmosphere it promotes. "Just that little simple act really connects people," he said. "Emergency preparedness and neighborhood connections go hand-in-hand." You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2012 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Visit The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at www.pressdemocrat.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]