PD Editorial: The next disaster is coming. Be prepared

California has a state reptile, a state fabric, a state insect, two state dances, even a state pet.

There is no official state disaster, perhaps because California experiences so many of them - tsunamis, mudslides, floods, fires, earthquakes.

We know they will come. We don’t know when.

And, as we’ve seen again with this month’s wildfires, many of us aren’t adequately prepared.

More than 50,000 people fled their homes in Santa Rosa, according to city officials, and thousands more were ordered to evacuate elsewhere in Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties as multiple wildfires threatened rural homes and densely populated urban neighborhoods.

Tens of thousands of residents were without electricity and natural gas for days, and it will take months, perhaps years, to rebuild all of the homes and businesses destroyed by fire.

In some areas, drinking water was deemed unsafe.

The fires arrived in the middle of the night, with little or no warning. They forced the evacuation and closure of two of the region’s largest hospitals, adjacent medical buildings and nearby pharmacies, in some instances for a week or more.

Fire damaged at least 77 cellphone towers and communication hubs, interrupting cellphone, landline and internet service as the disaster unfolded.

Before this fades into memory - and many will soon return to a comfortable state of denial - everyone should plan for the next disaster, whatever it is and whenever it occurs.

Restock your emergency supplies or, if you’re one of those true procrastinators, this is a good time to create an emergency kit.

Everyone should have water; nonperishable food, including pet food; a can opener; a first-aid kit, medications and dust masks; flashlights; a radio; some basic tools, including a wrench or pliers to shut off utilities; and plenty of spare batteries. You can find more tips at ready.gov/build-a-kit

If you don’t store passports, trust documents, insurance policies and other vital papers in a safe deposit box, consider a fire-proof safe or an easily accessible file box that can be taken in an evacuation.

After evacuating, many people realized they didn’t have their cellphone chargers. A spare probably should be in the kit, too. Many people have canceled landline service or switched to internet-based phone service that quickly fails when the electricity goes out, so it’s a good idea to have a charger that plugs into your car.

The fires also exposed issues with warning systems. Homes without landlines don’t receive reverse 911 calls, and county officials opted against using a wireless emergency alert system, saying it isn’t targeted enough.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris have asked the Federal Communications Commission to explain its failure to issue rules requiring wireless carriers “to enable precise geotargeting of (wireless emergency alert) warnings.” They should press for an answer.

And the rest of us should check our phones to ensure that we haven’t opted out of receiving those notices. You also should opt into Nixle alerts by texting your Zip code to 888777 and the SoCoAlert system by downloading the app for your phone or going to Sonomacounty.ca.gov/FES

California’s next disaster is a matter of when and where, not if. So let’s be prepared.