Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.
North Las Vegas is distributing laminated plastic wheels as a source of information for residents to prepare for and cope with disasters ranging from a nuclear bomb detonation to an earthquake.
Using an $85,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the city has distributed the information wheel that measures 10 inches in diameter to 45,000 homes.
One side of the planner wheel is blue and gives preparation instructions for a variety of emergencies, including thunderstorms, floods, biological and chemical threats, nuclear and dirty bombs, earthquakes, power outages, fires and hazardous material incidents, said Pat Lofft, the city's emergency management coordinator.
The other side is red and provides instructions how to act for the same emergencies. The top of the planner wheel has room to write in personal emergency numbers and information, Lofft said.
North Las Vegas Councilwoman Shari Buck developed the idea of distributing emergency disaster information to residents. She attended a conference of the National League of Cities in Indianapolis.
Buck said being away from her children caused fears that they wouldn't know now to act in case of an emergency. She said there is a natural gas pipeline behind her home and thoughts of it exploding have passed through her mind.
"If we had an emergency and had to evacuate, we would have a plan in place and know where to meet," Buck said.
Preparing for earthquakes or flooding is something most residents don't think about but need to be ready for, Buck said. The planner instructs families to develop plans on where to meet in case of a diaster and gives other tips about preparing food and water for disasters ahead of time.
Most people don't know they need to boil water for five to 10 minutes if the water system isn't working properly, Buck said. Others won't think of having a manual can opener for food and setting aside food for their pets, she said.
North Las Vegas has its own plan to deal with disasters and regularly trains for it, but many people will be on their own if diaster strikes, she said.
"The city can't take care of the needs of 178,000 people," Buck said. "They can rely on us for information, but they need to be prepared as families."
Lofft said a wheel has been used in the past by the National Weather Service and others in disaster preparation. She said this is one of the first widespread distributions of wheels that has information tailored to the community. The city had other emergency information on hurricanes, for example, but didn't need that, Lofft said.
The Metropolitan Police Department has distributed some of the same information through phone books, Lofft said.
The emergency information on nuclear, biological and chemical threats was necessary to get the federal grant, Lofft said. Buck said she, like others, hope such a disaster never occurs, but it is best to have people prepared.
"When you think of what diasters could come to us, we think a lot differently about it now in light of Sept. 11," Buck said.
The planner urges people to prepare for a nuclear explosion by preparing a "safe room" within your home and urges people to put as much earth or shelter between them and the contamination.
North Las Vegas printed 100,000 wheels in English and another 15,000 in Spanish for those who request that language. The city will be distributing additional wheels to businesses and to new residents of the community, Lofft said.
The grant covered the cost of production and postage to mail the wheels, said city spokeswoman Brenda Johnson. To save money and produce higher quantities, city staff did the graphic design and Spanish translation, she said.
The city's Web site at wwww.cityofnorthlasvegas.com includes the planner information. The wheels will be available this week at various city buildings. For information, call 633-1005.
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