Tony Overman/The Olympian
Residents will be ready if disaster strikes at the Seashore Villa trailer court, thanks to the efforts of Betty Clark (pictured) and former resident Linda Rosenberry, who began a program five years ago to train residents in disaster preparedness and to build a stockpile of emergency equipment.

Memories of past help prepare
for future

Shattered nerves give way to action

JIM CARLILE, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Thursday, February 28, 2002

SOUTH SOUND -- The lingering effects of the Nisqually Earthquake reach beyond cracks in plaster. They reach into the psyche.

A year later, South Sound residents are still coping with the earthquake. Individuals and communities have dealt with it in different ways.

Kids in day care were spooked every time soldiers at Fort Lewis practiced firing their artillery.

People living in apartments arranged evacuation plans to cope with any future quake.

Betty Clark, assistant manager of the Seashore Villa trailer court in Olympia, said that since the quake, the trailer court's management and residents have taken numerous precautions for the next one.

"We have a whole emergency preparation setup now," Clark said. "The fire department was out here and trained some of our people in CPR and first aid, and we now have quite a little storage house of goods to take care of people for 72 hours if we get cut off after an earthquake."

The fire department also set fires in the parking lot and trained some residents how to put them out, Clark said.

The management at the park has also encouraged residents to have their own supply of water in case something happens that's more devastating than the last quake. They also devised a meeting spot for everyone in the park to go to if a really bad quake hits, so residents can be accounted for.

Most of the 115 homes in the park are now equipped with first aid kits and a water supply separate from their normal plumbing.

"Some people pooh-pooh it, but we thought it was a good idea to just be prepared," Clark said. "And this isn't just for an earthquake, but any kind of major disaster from poisons in the air to fires to plane crashes in the area. We're basically trying to cover the bases in case there's a need."

Aftershocks

Terri Evans is a day care provider. She has an average of nine kids in her home each day.

On the day of the earthquake, the kids in Evans' care were understandably terrified. Calming them down after the quake wasn't her only problem.

Evans lives in the Hawks Prairie area; in the days after the quake, artillery practice at Fort Lewis unnerved the children even further.

"They just kept shelling, and every time they did it, the kids would run under the table crying. They were scared it was happening again," Evans said. "We had to calm them down again every time it happened."

"I would say it took a couple of weeks for them to finally realize it was Fort Lewis again and not an earthquake," she said. "It was extremely stressful. You don't want children upset and crying -- especially all at the same time."

The noise and vibrations coming from Fort Lewis even had her a bit jumpy the first few days after the quake, she said.

"It's not a problem anymore. Enough time has passed," Evans said.

Surface damage

One of the hardest hit buildings in South Sound was the old Olympian Hotel at 519 Washington St. S.E.

The upper floors, which are used for apartments, swayed during the quake. The manager, Rita Brengan, was there when it happened.

"I was in the office, and I got under the desk. By the time I got there it was all over," Brengan said. "The damage we had was all on the surface."

Walking through the halls of the building, she runs her hand over places where cracks used to be. Only outlines of the damage remain.

"We had to take out anything surrounding the crack," she said. "Most of the damage was on the fifth and sixth floors. It's a historic building, so you can't just replace damage with any old thing."

After the quake -- while the building was settling again -- a few more cracks appeared, but that wasn't the extent of the aftermath. The manager at the time quit after being so frightened by the quake. A resident on the sixth floor moved out as well.

The earthquake has also resulted in a new evacuation policy for the building. Brengan said a firefighter came to the building and explained the proper route for getting out, during a mandatory meeting for residents.

"Aside from just being prepared, you can't really do much else," she said.

Jim Carlile covers crime and public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jcarlile@olympia.gannett.com.

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