The National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting 6 to 15 inches of mountain snow for today December 7 and tomorrow in the Olympics and Cascades above 3,000 feet, including all the passes. If you are planning on driving through the mountain passes, take a moment to prepare your vehicle for the weather.

It’s December and it’s raining cats and dogs and a few large farm animals as well. So what are you going to do to prepare for emergencies at such a time? Stay inside and look around! This is a good time to review everything you’ve done on this 12-month journey to prepare—and feel good about all that hard work. It’s also the time to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

People sometimes get confused about the Bainbridge Prepares (BP) partnership, thinking that the City funds our nonprofit, or that BP is the City, or that City Emergency Management Coordinator Anne LeSage does many of the things that, in fact, our own BP leadership does. Let’s take a moment to clarify this fantastic partnership that helps keep our community resilient.

If you live or spend time on the beaches or low-lying areas, be aware of high King Tides Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week (11/28 and 29).

This year for Giving Tuesday, you can support Bainbridge Prepares’ Island Resilience Campaign, to make Bainbridge safer and more resilient through growing community-focused programs like our Child Reunification Center, neighborhood-based Disaster Hubs, Emergency Volunteer Flotilla, and more than 20 Disaster Preparedness teams.

Looking for ways to store water for emergencies? Local feed store Bay Hay and Feed now offers two excellent items to help you: water storage tanks and water stabilizer treatment.

Coincidentally, November features the work anniversaries of two of our favorite people: Loren Bast, our beloved executive director who makes miracles happen, and Anne LeSage, the multitasking wizard also known as Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Bainbridge Island.

John Fossett, the adult services librarian at the Bainbridge Public Library, once attended a virtual preparedness summit at which a woman said, “If you can’t grow food in your community, you are not prepared.”

Sheltering in place is not something we have much reason to do in western Washington. But when we do, it is of utmost importance to do it right. Almost always, the occasion will be a chemical, biological, or radiological event.

Last year, our “BIG WEELS” team partnered with Island Volunteer Caregivers, the Senior Center, St. Cecilia Church, Helpline House, the Rotary Club, main coordinator Laura Van Dyke, and many, MANY others to help deliver hot turkey dinners to individuals in need during some nasty winter weather.

Rick Nakata, a cherished volunteer known for his dedicated service to organizations like Bainbridge Prepares and the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, passed away from liver cancer on October 16, 2023.

The fall time change, which, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, happened last night, is a great reminder to take care of some semiannual home preparation tasks.

More than 5,000 kids attend school, day care, or other programs on Bainbridge. On any given day, a good percentage of the parents/caretakers of those children may be working off island. What happens if on a school day a disaster occurs that shuts down the bridge and ferry system?

Getting prepared for disaster should not be an activity possible only for people with financial means. A community is not truly prepared unless everyone in it is prepared. There is no equity unless everyone is able to feel relatively safe.

The Washington State Department of Health (WDOH) reported October 25 that state “blood banks are facing critical shortages of life-saving blood.” In particular, the shortages are affecting supplies of O and Rh- blood and platelets.

Earthquake preparation involves knowing what to do when an earthquake starts and what to do when the shaking stops.