SPECIAL: Click here to see some photos of the storm damage caused by a fallen tree at 155 Bayview Drive during the severe winter storm on January 4, 2008.

Bayside Acres has collaborated with the San Pedro Road Coalition to assemble information on how to prepare for, and respond to, the most likely disasters we face: fire, earthquake, and flood/mudslide. Since much of the information collected applies to everyone in our area, this information was placed on the Coalition's website and can be found on the Coalition's Disaster Preparedness pages. There is a wealth of information on these pages as well as additional information via more links on the Contacts/Links page of that website. A great deal of this information was collected by Board member Stuart Brown.

The Bayside Acres Homeowners' Association has formed an Emergency Response Team (ERT). This team is chaired by William Gates (258-0368 or email), and currently comprised of Bert Thunstrom, Stuart Brown, Don Saxby, Matt Ramsey, Sue Wilhelm, Jack Going, Mary Sinclair and Barbara Selle. The initial effort will be to agree on appropriate communications and training for people in Bayside Acres. This would include:

• making an inventory of households, including persons who might need special assistance in the event of a disaster

• making households aware of good planning measures

• agreeing on training that would be useful for first response

• assigning area responsibility for contact in the event of an emergency

• developing a communications plan

The BAHOA Emergency Response Team will coordinate with the San Pedro Road Coalition's Disaster Preparedness Committee in coordinating preparation, planning and response activities across all the homeowner associations along the Pt. San Pedro Road corridor.

The Bayside Acres ERT has prepared a Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire.  If you have not yet filled this form out, please do so.  It will be of great benefit to the ERT as well as to yourself in the event of an emergency. Just click on the link, print the Questionnaire and return it as indicated. A valuable document put out by the San Rafael Office of Emergency Services is the Disaster Plan Worksheet.  It is an excellent document to assist individual residences in preparing for a disaster.

In addition, the City of San Rafael has prepared a Winter Weather Preparedness Handout to provide information on how to prepare for, and deal with, severe winter storms. For further severe weather-related information:

www.cityofsanrafael.org/Weather.htm - San Rafael Public Works Real-Time Weather
www.weather.gov/sanfrancisco - National Weather Service SF Bay
www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/fl_before.shtm - FEMA Flood Hazard Information

If you would like to be on the Bayside Acres Emergency Response Team, would like to assist in any way, or have information for the team, please contact William Gates at 258-0368 or send him an email.