Earthquake? Tornado? Clayton Library Info Equips Neighbors

When the next thunderstorm, ice storm or other disaster happens in or , how well would residents be prepared to handle it?

The statewide program Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) hopes to be able to answer that question.

MYN focuses on bringing together neighbors—from 15 to 20 in an urban setting and from five to seven in a rural setting—to be prepared and self-reliant in the first hours after a disaster.

Greg Hempen, commissioner for the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission and the trainer for Missouri’s MYN, said policemen, firemen and medical personnel usually are not available immediately after a disaster. So it’s crucial for neighbors to work together in order to save lives, mitigate damage and reduce injuries.

“It’s simple to take action and be prepared,” he said. “People are empowered (through MYN) to take action after any type of disaster.”

The statewide program, which started in 2010, was developed and implemented in the state of Washington about 25 years ago. Hempen said that the program was very active and critical following the Nisqually earthquake in 2001.

Hempen first heard of the program four years ago at a conference and soon began working to bring the program to Missouri. Once the safety commission endorsed the program, he got materials for the program. Those were copyrighted in Washington but have been adapted and expanded for Missouri.

Binders with information about the program are available to St. Louisans at city and county libraries, such as the in Clayton.

Hempen has done a number of informational sessions across the state and has been working with state and county departments to provide more information about the program. For example, he received a grant from the Missouri Department of Health to go to Joplin in August to speak to people about the program.

He said that the St. Louis city and county emergency management agencies also have expressed interest in getting more information about the program. He’s trained more than 400 people across St. Louis city and St. Louis County on the program.

“It should be spread across the country, and I’m doing my part to spread across Missouri,” Hempen said.