Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson is hosting the "Alameda County Emergency Preparedness Day" on Saturday to help community members be ready for disasters such as fires and earthquakes.
Carson said on Friday that preparation is important because the East Bay has experienced several significant earthquakes and fires over the last 100 years.
The event will be held at Chabot Elementary School at 6686 Chabot Road in Oakland from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and will begin with remarks by Carson and keynote speaker Lars Eric Holm, the disaster preparedness coordinator at Eden I&R Inc.
Workshops will be presented on topics such as insurance, personal planning, basic life-saving techniques and community planning.
Presenters will include the American Red Cross, University of California at San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, the California Department of Insurance, the Center for Independent Living and the Bay Area Youth EMT Program.
There also will be a resource fair with more than 25 organizations and agencies.
Organizers said they expect more than 500 Alameda County residents to attend the event and the first 300 families to arrive will receive free emergency kits.
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Carson, whose Fifth District seat includes Albany, Berkeley, Piedmont, Emeryville and parts of Oakland, said earthquakes and fires have had a devastating impact and damaged thousands of structures and endangered countless lives in the East Bay over the years.
He said although there have been ongoing efforts to inform and educate residents, the recent wildfires in other Bay Area communities are a reminder that leaders need to ensure that all citizens are informed and prepared for disasters, which he said are inevitable.
Carson said the emergency preparedness day is held every four years and this is the third time he has hosted it.
