San Diego County to introduce neighborhood emergency evacuation team

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – To help older adults and people with disabilities in the event of an emergency, San Diego County officials will introduce Wednesday a pilot program to help prepare for emergency evacuations.

County Supervisor Greg Cox and the County Office of Emergency Services will introduce the Neighborhood Evacuation Team Wednesday at 12:25 p.m. at Kearny High School.

The team, part of a pilot program for areas of unincorporated San Diego County, will guide adults with access and functional needs into creating a plan by trained Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members. Older adults, people with disabilities and people with other needs may deal with disproportional disadvantages. If an emergency happens, they might need to arrange for transport from a caretaker, neighbor, friend or family member who can gather emergency supplies or medication.

Those CERT members will help people practice their plan, identify emergency contacts and register for AlertSanDiego — the county’s regional alert and warning system.

Students from Kearny High School’s digital media design program worked with the Office of Emergency Services to create promotional materials for the program.