A San Mateo County alert about a simulated 7.2-magnitude earthquake kicked off the ninth annual Burlingame Disaster Survival Drill hosted by the Burlingame Neighborhood Network (BNN) on Saturday, October 9, 2021. More than 300 Burlingame residents representing dozens of neighborhood groups participated in the 90-minute exercise, along with local police officers, firefighters and Ham radio operators. Two City Council members, Donna Colson and Emily Beach, were among the participants.
The drill returned to an in-person format with neighbors observing county health protocols as they patrolled local streets looking for “incidents” describing emergency situations such as downed power lines and collapsed houses. In 2020 the drill was conducted via Zoom.
Suzanne Tateosian of BNN’s board said a total of 31 neighborhoods groups have received free caches of emergency supplies. The caches, which are valued at $550, are awarded to neighborhood groups that participate in at least two annual drills and host other neighborhood activities. They are funded by the City of Burlingame.
