A disaster or emergency can happen anywhere, at any time. In an
emergency situation such as a major storm or earthquake, it will take
time for emergency personnel to get to you. It is important to make sure
you, your business, and school have personal emergency plans in place.
Who do you Call During an Emergency?
- Emergency: Call 9-1-1
- Police Non-Emergency: (206) 296-3311
- Fire Non-Emergency: (206) 242-2040
- Flooding, landslides, or fallen trees: Call Burien Public Works Department (206) 241-4647 between 8–5 p.m. Call 9-1-1 after business hours.
- For emergency information on the radio tune into KIRO 97.3 FM, KIRO 710 AM, or KOMO 1000 AM.
What is Emergency Management?
Burien
is committed to being prepared in the event of an emergency. It is the
governmental policy of the City to protect lives, property, the
environment, and the economy during an emergency or disaster.
The
City of Burien works with the Burien Police Department, Burien/Normandy
Park Fire Department, utilities serving Burien, and other community
partners to plan, respond, mitigate, and recover from emergencies. The
City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) consists of the City’s
leadership team and police and fire department leadership. The city
manager oversees the activation of the EOC during a disaster.
Hazards in Burien
Below are known hazards in Burien. Share this information with your family and neighbors.
Earthquakes
The
Puget Sound sits in a highly volatile geologic zone and experts
consider earthquakes the most potentially damaging natural hazard for
our region. In an earthquake, all of the city of Burien will experience
potentially damaging ground shaking. It has the potential to cause major
structural and/or non-structural damage to any building or facility
that has not been retrofitted. Earthquakes can cause significant damage
in the area and can trigger landslides, liquefaction of soil, and
tsunamis.
What to do to prepare for an earthquake
- Pick
safe places in your home where you could drop, cover, and hold during
an earthquake. Safe places could be under a sturdy table, desk or
against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture
that could fall on you. Remember to do the same at work.
- Practice
drop, cover and hold. If you physically practice you’ll have a better
chance of remembering what to do during a real earthquake.
- Have a fire extinguisher available and know when and how to use it. Minimum recommended size: 2A:10BC.
- Seismically
safeguard your home. This could include securing items such as
appliances, water heater, bookshelves, framed pictures, televisions and
computers; installing cabinet latches, and securing valuable/sentimental
breakable items to shelves with putty.
- If your home was built before 1977, check to see if the frame is bolted to the foundation.
- Prepare for the possibility of tsunamis, power outages, and landslides.
- Visit ready.gov for more information.
Severe Weather
Severe
weather can affect all areas of Burien. Strong wind storms occur almost
every year, causing trees to fall and power outages. Snow and ice
storms are also common, and can cause treacherous driving conditions as
well as downed trees and power outages.
Since the entire city is
susceptible to severe weather, all critical infrastructure is considered
exposed to severe weather. Given that electrical utilities and roads
are most often affected by severe weather, all critical infrastructure
managers and operators should plan for possible power outages and
difficult ingress and egress. Some critical infrastructure, such as
power lines, is actually more likely to be impacted or damaged as a
result of severe weather.
Wildfire
Burien
is an urbanized city but is susceptible to wildland fires that can
destroy property and infrastructure. It is susceptible to fires as a
result of the numerous steep slopes located throughout the city.
Neighborhoods and parks near the coast all have vegetated areas located
on slopes. These tend to be heavily vegetated and typically dry out
during the summer.
Fires can be caused by the setting off of
illegal fireworks. The possession and discharging of all fireworks is
banned in Burien.
Air quality can be affected by rural wildifires, as occurred in the summer of 2017.
Hazardous Material
Hazardous
materials come in the form of explosives, flammable and combustible
substances, poisons, and radioactive materials. Hazards can occur during
production, storage, transportation, use or disposal.
A hazardous
materials release in Burien can occur from two sources: from fixed
sites (facilities that hold hazardous materials on site) and from
transportation-related operations. Because of Burien’s proximity to the
airport and the transportation routes that serve it, there are risks of a
hazardous material release.
The cold storage facilities in the Northeast Redevelopment Area and gasoline stations are also concerns.
Landslides
The
term landslide includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock
falls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris flows. There are a
number of neighborhoods in Burien that are considered critical areas
that are more prone to landslides. However, landslides can occur even outside a critical area.
Landslide Warning Signs
- Springs, seeps, or saturated ground in areas that have not typically been wet before.
- New cracks or unusual bulges in the ground, street pavements or sidewalks.
- Soil moving away from foundations.
- Ancillary structures such as decks and patios tilting and/or moving relative to the main house.
- Tilting or cracking of concrete floors and foundations.
- Broken water lines and other underground utilities.
- Leaning telephone poles, trees, retaining walls, or fences.
- Offset fence lines.
- Sunken or down-dropped road beds.
- Rapid increase in creek water levels, possibly accompanied by increased turbidity (soil content).
- Sudden decrease in creek water levels though rain is still falling or just recently stopped.
- Sticking doors and windows, and visible open spaces indicating jambs and frames out of plumb.
- A faint rumbling sound that increases in volume is noticeable as the landslide nears.
- Unusual sounds, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together, might indicate moving debris.
- Visit USGS Landslide Hazards Program for more information.
Aviation Accident
While
the risk of a plane crash is very low, Burien’s proximity to the
airport does mean that an aviation accident could impact the city. The
majority of accidents occur immediately after take-off and before
landing. The FAA acknowledges this danger and requires airports to
create special emergency plans that detail how they would respond to a
crash within five miles from their boundaries. Nationally, despite the
hundreds of thousands of planes that fly over urban areas, the number of
crashes that have killed or injured non-passengers is very small.
Flood
Flooding
is not as much of a concern in Burien as it is in communities that are
near rivers. However, there is the risk of some localized flooding
during heavy winter rain storms. It is important to make sure you help
the City prevent flooding by keeping your storm drains clear of leaves
and other debris.
What to do to prepare for a flood
- Learn the safest route from your home or business to high ground.
- Make arrangements for housing in the event you need to evacuate your home.
- Teach all family members how, where and when to turn off utilities.
- Plan for a meeting place outside of the hazard area.
- If it has been raining hard for several hours, or raining steadily for several days, be alert to the possibility of a flood.
- Consider purchasing one or more pumps to use to remove water in and around your home during heavy rains or flooding.
- Prepare for severe storms and power outages which often accompany floods.
- Review
your flood insurance policies for structure and contents coverage.
Don’t have insurance? Contact your insurance representative.
Volcanic Eruption
Burien has low vulnerability
to volcanic hazards. Tephras (ash and the large volcanic projectiles
that erupt from a volcano) can potentially cause the most damage. Ash
only on-half inch thick can impede the movement of most vehicles and
disrupt transportation, communication, and utility systems. Tephra may
cause eye and respiratory problems, particularly for those with existing
medical conditions. Ash may also clog ventilation systems and other
machinery. It is easily carried by winds and air currents remaining a
hazard to machinery and transportation long after the eruption.
Gases
from volcanic eruptions are usually too diluted to constitute danger to
a person in normal health, the combination of acidic gas and ash may
cause lung problems. Extremely heavy ash can clog breathing passages and
cause death.
Tsunami
It is unlikely that a tsunami or
seiche generated by a distant or Cascadia Subduction earthquake would
result in much damage in Burien. One computer model suggests that a
tsunami generated by such an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 would
only be 0.2 to 0.4 meters in height when it reached the Seattle/Burien
area. This results from the shielding of the Olympic Peninsula and the
Puget Sound islands.
However, Puget Sound is vulnerable to
tsunamis generated by local crustal earthquakes (such as along the
Seattle fault or South Whidbey Island fault) or by submarine landslides
triggered by earthquake shaking. This type of tsunami could impact
Burien. The low-lying areas along the Puget Sound coastline could suffer
damage.
There is a low probability of a tsunami or seiche occurring in Burien.
Frequently Asked Questions