PG&E, SJ Earthquakes soccer team highlight disaster preparedness

Volunteers from PG&E’s Samahan Employee Resource Group distributed emergency kits at the San Jose Earthquakes’ Filipino Heritage Night on Saturday, September 30. CONTRIBUTED

SAN JOSE, California — Thousands of people recently displaced and widespread damage from hurricanes that devastated parts of Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, along with the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Mexico City are urgent reminders of the need for personal preparedness.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has partnered with the San Jose Earthquakes to remind soccer fans to make a personal emergency preparedness plan and build an emergency kit.

On September 30 during the San Jose Earthquake’s Filipino Heritage Night, PG&E showcased its Mobile Command Unit, a vehicle acts as a mobile extension of the company’s emergency operations center. The vehicle is packed with the tools crews need to address emergencies from the field, including a 3,000-watt on-board generator, three workstations, laptops, satellite phones, radios, and a radio controller that allows the operator to connect PG&E radios of different frequencies together, and allows for other radios (such as police, fire and highway patrol) to connect with PG&E radio frequencies.

Volunteers from PG&E’s Samahan Employee Resource Group were onsite to encourage fans to check out the Mobile Command Unit. A voucher was giving out to fans to redeem for an emergency kit after the game. The Quakes defeated the Portland Timbers 2-1 on Saturday night.

PG&E urges customers to stay safe during emergencies by taking these precautions and remembering these and other tips that can be found at pge.com/beprepared:

• Create an emergency preparedness kit that includes food and water, health and medical supplies and equipment such as a portable radio and flashlights.
• Make a plan and practice it. Ensure that all your household members know what to do when emergencies occur. Consider that not everyone might be together during the event.
• Establish a location where your family can reunite after evacuating. Decide on a second meeting place, in case the primary location is unusable.
• Keep your pets in mind when planning for emergencies. Include your pets in your practice drills. The practice can help them get used to a leash or carrier during stressful situations. Find out which kennels, shelters or veterinarians can care for your animals during an emergency. Public shelters may not accept pets because of health and safety concerns.
• Keep at least a half tank of gas in your car at all times in case you need to evacuate unexpectedly. Gas stations might be closed during emergencies or even run out of fuel if there’s a rush of customers. Keep electric vehicles charged as well.
• Familiarize yourself with alternate routes out of your area. If possible, identify multiple locations in different directions so you have options during an evacuation. Of course, if authorities identify a specific evacuation route, follow it. Do not take shortcuts as they may be blocked.
• Never Touch Downed Wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
• In the event of an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.