The “Seattle Emergency Hub” in Madison Valley is just one of dozens organized across the city. The hubs are volunteer-run groups with meet-up points to share communication and responses in the aftermath of a potential disaster like an earthquake.

“The neighborhood is going to be what brings us together,” said Frank Lawler, a resident of the neighborhood involved in organizing the hub. “The reality is, when terrible things happen in terms of natural disasters- people generally tend to get together, they tend to show their best sides.”

Lawler said that before 2019, he hadn’t thought much about the threat of earthquakes. “Oh, not at all,” Lawler said.

But when a neighbor raised the issue in conversation and pitched the idea of forming an emergency hub — he quickly got informed and involved. City-wide, Seattle Emergency Hubs prepare for emergency situations.

Neighbors plan a location where they’ll meet up and be able to communicate; get educated on what could happen in case of different types of emergencies; and conduct drills to put what they’ve learned into practice. It’s just one way community members are doing their part to prepare for threats like “the big one.”

Participation in the hub has helped Lawler prepare his own home and given him a sense of comfort and agency should there be an emergency.

“The neighborhood is going to be what brings us together,” Lawler said. “The reality is, when terrible things happen in terms of natural disasters, people generally tend to get together, they tend to show their best sides.”

The Nisqually Quake in 2001 was, for many Olympia and Seattle-area residents, a wake-up call about the local threat earthquakes pose. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake injured 400 people, though fortunately no one was killed as a direct result of damage. The earthquake highlighted some vulnerable assets around Puget Sound cities, including bridges and buildings.

Since then, more school systems have called for increased funding to improve seismic safety. Agencies such as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) have conducted work on roads, tunnels and bridges to prepare for the threats of quakes.

There is also more awareness of the concern unreinforced masonry buildings could collapse during a big earthquake. For example, Seattle keeps track of known concerns and Seattle City Council passed a resolution to create a resource program to aid property owners in retrofitting operations.