An earthquake felt at least a hundred miles away from its epicenter in Julian hit San Diego on April 14. Those few seconds of shaking and tremors – felt throughout Coronado – served as a reminder of the city’s emergency preparedness protocol.
The city’s emergency manager, Brian Standing, said Coronado is absolutely ready for a major catastrophe. “Emergency preparedness is really a multi-pronged approach, and we do a lot of public education outreach to try to notify our citizens of how to prepare themselves.”
Coronado has an Emergency Operations Center, or the EOC, that is activated every time the city experiences any sort of crisis – like the April 14 earthquake that triggered the center to operate.
The EOC acts as a communication hub where people from different departments would coordinate operations during an extreme situation. For example, Standing explained that there would be someone from the finance department of the city managing the logistics and potential supplies needed.
The top threats locally, according to Standing, are earthquakes, wildfires and tsunamis. Coronado is called an island for a reason, it is nearly surrounded by water.
Last January, flooding overwhelmed some areas of the island, causing waters to rise up to five feet in certain areas and prompting a local emergency declaration. The EOC was in operation during that time.
Coronado’s fault lines
San Diego also sits on several fault lines, the most significant one is known as the Rose Canyon Fault Zone which has multiple fracture lines running through Coronado – including the Silver Strand Fault and the Spanish Bight Fault running down Pomona Avenue and parallel to the Sea N Air Golf Course, according to the San Diego Association of Geologists.
The Rose Canyon Fault Zone is described as a “dextral strike-slip fault that is part of the greater San Andreas Fault System” according to the California Geological Survey fault evaluation report released in 2021. It stretches over a hundred miles from near Beverly Hills in Los Angeles to San Diego Bay.
This fault’s last major event was in 1933 near Long Beach.
“While fault activity is less frequent than some of the major faults in the region, it is still a source of concern for the area,” wrote Michael F. Ballard, a San Diego student of geology, in his research of faults in Southern California.
He wrote that large earthquakes, meaning those 7 magnitude or higher, can and will eventually occur along this fault. And because it runs through dense cities, devastating effects are possible.
How to prepare
Coronado is enrolled in a regional warning system from the County of San Diego that will send phone notifications to residents and businesses that might be impacted by an emergency or disaster.
California has a free earthquake warning app that residents can download. When a quake begins, the app instantly sends out a text. Except near the epicenter, those who receive it have critical seconds to take precautions before the quake arrives. Thousands of people in San Diego County had advance notice of the Julian quake.
Getting notified of a potential threat would be the first step in taking the necessary precautions if an earthquake and/or tsunami were to hit the island.
The city recommends residents be ready for a natural disaster, with plans and a stockpile of provisions. That includes a flashlight and batteries for power outages, sandbags in cases of floods and awareness of potential evacuation routes.
The city has also provided several resources on its website for those wanting to get preparations in order.
Drills
The municipality takes part in “all-hazards planning,” which means it focuses on preparedness for a full spectrum of emergencies or disasters. The key components: proper training, supplies and leadership to address a broad range of threats.
We’re always looking at risks and managing risks, and thinking of the what-ifs … Preparation is key, so we don’t get hit flatfooted.
City Council member Kelly Purvis
“We’re always looking at risks and managing risks, and thinking of the what-ifs,” City Council member Kelly Purvis said. “Preparation is the key, so we don’t get hit flatfooted.”
Standing said he just participated in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill in October that simulates a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the southernmost San Andreas fault. He also participated in a county-wide Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, drill back in December where they practiced a large earthquake simulation.
That was also why Sharp Coronado Hospital practiced an emergency drill at Tidelands Park across from the hospital last week. If the bridge were down, ambulance transport via the Silver Strand could take too long with a critical-care patient. A helicopter would perform the task in minutes.
Standing said that the bridge and the Strand being inoperable is highly unlikely, but in the event that it did happen, the city would connect with the county’s resources.
“It would be such a large-scale event for the region that it would be a large collaborative approach,” Standing explained. “You’d likely have military collaboration, potentially have Coast Guard, … county resources.”
In the case of a mass casualty, Purvis said, the city has been practicing critical egress, which is how to safely evacuate an area due to an emergency.
“We plan with other communities, so there’s a lot of reciprocity between us,” Purvis explained. “Obviously, we have ferries, we have boats with the military – which is key.”
Naval Base Coronado, which Naval Air Station North Island is a part of, is listed in the plan as a liaison for specialized support and a partner for local resource assistance in case of an emergency.
The Navy
If something drastic were to happen, Coronado could call on the Navy’s help through a system known as the Defense Support of Civil Authorities, or DSCA.
DSCA is a process where the military would assist the city in missions led by local government officials. Missions would include disaster response and law enforcement support.
After the city has exhausted all its own resources and support with surrounding cities and the county and state, they can request for help from Naval Air Station North Island.
We have a strong partnership with the city of Coronado, their mayor, as well as their EOC.
Naval Base Coronado Emergency Management Officer Stacy Urreola
“We have a strong partnership with the city of Coronado, their mayor, as well as their EOC,” Stacy Urreola, the emergency management officer for Naval Base Coronado, said.
North Island does operate with their own EOC in the same way the city does. When an emergency happens, it triggers its operations and depending on the situation, brings individuals into the center to plan how to move forward.
“Something happens, then that subject matter expert comes over and it could be anybody in their branch with knowledge of that branch,” Kevin Dixon, the PAO for Naval Base Coronado, explained.
If the bridge and the Strand were both inoperable, Urreola said that they would open the EOC and assess the situation, have a shelter in place and make sure they are self-sufficient for at least a few days.
Naval Air Station North Island’s Emergency Operations Center opens during an emergency or natural disaster. Staff photo by Madeline Yang.. Staff photo by Madeline Yang.
“We want to make sure that our sailors and our civilians, everyone on this installation, is safe,” Urreola said.
Even though the base and the city sit on the same island, Urreola said that the base is essentially its own city and they need to ensure the safety of their own personnel and property first.
“We completely understand that, obviously, we have to take care of ourselves, but at the same time, we also want to show support and be supportive as well. Because in times of need and there’s a threat to life, we want to make sure that we’re able to support in any way that we can,” Urreola said.
