EVERETT — This is not our parents’ “Duck and Cover” version of disaster preparedness.
Instead, a new exhibit at Everett Community College’s Russell Day Gallery focuses on natural disasters and some ways to prepare for them.
Titled “Mayhem: Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes of the Pacific Northwest,” the exhibit takes a look at our local risks for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and landslides.
The exhibit is the brainchild of Steven Grupp and Gary Newlin, instructors of geology and English, respectively, and stems from a class the two jointly teach that draws from the same material.
The intention of the class, and the exhibit, is raising awareness, Grupp said.
“If we can educate students, they can take that out into the world and use it themselves,” he said.
In class, students learn about geologic hazards and apply it to essay writing, and the students have taken field trips to sites of recent disasters such as the Oso mudslide and Mount St. Helens.
Grupp added that he gives his students a hard time about leaving a pair of shoes by the bed, because an earthquake will often result in a lot of broken glass on the floor.
The exhibit fills out the small space with hanging displays and equipment used by emergency responders.
One wall features displays of the Oso slide, including an interactive feature pinpointing where some of the 43 victims lived.
“Oso was close to home. It’s very meaningful to them. Oso certainly highlights the kinds of risks that we have,” Newlin said.
Another display focuses on the La Conchita landslide, a 2005 slide in a southern California community that killed 10 people. Like the Oso slide, the La Conchita slide was a reactivation of a slide in the area from a decade before.
Building awareness of natural disasters is important, Newlin said, because they don’t happen that often, and they’re not at the forefront of public attention until a major event happens.
In addition, Grupp added, they often happen in incredibly beautiful locations, like the Stillaguamish valley, that people like to live in and visit.
In Grupp’s and Newlin’s opinion, raising that level of disaster awareness and showing their students or the public how to be prepared is an intregal part of living in the Northwest.
“We’re kind of working on the next generation,” Grupp said.
Natural Disasters exhibit at EvCC
The exhibit, “Mayhem: Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes of the Pacific Northwest,” opens Monday, Oct. 27 in the Russell Day Gallery in the Parks Student Union at Everett Community College. The exhibit runs through Dec. 5. A presentation and opening reception will be held Thursday, Oct. 30 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The gallery is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 12-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays. For more information, visit everettcc.edu/gallery.
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