Let's Get Ready for a Rumble!

After my first couple of years in Venice, I used to joke with friends back East that we did have four seasons in Los Angeles, “Summer, Fires, Earthquakes and Downpours.”

some of the preparations you should make for the next earthquake. If there is anything that we should have learned from the recent 9.0 Japanese earthquake, and subsequent tsunami, it’s that we can’t be too prepared. The death toll would have been far worse in any other country, but Japan has an informed populace that had been drilled in what to do.

We need more emergency preparedness here. 

This Saturday, the Venice Neighborhood Council and Villa Marina Council will join together for the Be Ready Expo from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Burton Chace Park at the end of Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey.

(It’s the same park famous for free Summer night concerts and is one of the best viewing areas for both 4th of July Fireworks and the Holiday Boat Parade.)

At 11:30 a.m., there will be with an educational puppet show for children.

When the puppet show is done, the kids can go play in the park, or clamber over fire trucks and a Coast Guard cutter.

Adults can hear a disaster readiness lecture, learn how to care for pets in an emergency, and find out more about tsunamis and earthquakes. Councilman Bill Rosendahl will speak at noon.

There will be demonstrations and booths with displays and emergency supplies, along with free snacks and water. There’s even a raffle with a grand prize drawing for a family vacation in Cancun.

You will also get to meet some of the first responders who will help us, including the police, fire fighters, EMTs, doctors and the Red Cross.

Given how small the parking lot is at the end of Mindanao Way, I suggest car pooling or biking.

It’s time for an educational picnic in the park that could save lives.