This might come as a shock but, when the big earthquake hits, Ballard residents will be on their own for the first few days after the tremors.

Police officers and firefighters will be busy checking the condition of schools, hospitals and other public facilities. They won't be available to help individuals.

Basic services such as water, sewer, electricity, telephones, natural gas, even cash machines might not function normally for who knows how long. Bridges might be down, some highways and arterial streets impassable.

"If there's a disaster, the city will be overwhelmed," said JoAnn Jordan, public education coordinator for the Seattle Office of Emergency Management.

That's why the city of Seattle's strategy for coping with a disaster is to rely upon individual citizens to voluntarily organize their neighbors into small groups throughout West Seattle and the rest of the city to help each other. A new city program called Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) is designed similarly to the Seattle's anti-crime program called Blockwatch. The program was unveiled at two community meetings in Delridge last week.

After getting acquainted, neighbors talk and discover what skills they have among them that might be useful in a disaster. Are there doctors or nurses living in the neighborhood? Who knows first aid? Who knows how to turn off natural gas? Anyone have electrical skills? People are urged to make neighborhood maps.

Groups also are encouraged to inventory neighborhood assets such as schools, community centers, libraries, churches, businesses and other facilities in the area.

They also list potential problems in the neighborhood. Which houses use natural gas? Are there senior citizens in the neighborhood who might need help? Any disabled residents who could use a hand in a disaster?

Mayor Greg Nickels that he was part of a similar emergency preparedness group in his neighborhood prior to the Nisqually earthquake in 2001.

"My job was to search for gas leaks," said Nickels. "I had a little wrench (to turn off the gas)." The mayor said he shut off one gas leak in his neighborhood after the Nisqually temblor.

"Neighbors will need a sense of direction," Nickels said.

"We can do a lot to get the city back up and running as quickly as we can," Jordan said.

Begin by preparing yourself and your family first, Jordan said. Then organize among your neighbors.

Put together an emergency box with at least a three-day supply of food, Jordan said. Buy canned food you like. Store one gallon of water for each person for each day. Include a seven- to 10-day supply of prescription drugs.

Put a flashlight in the box. Get one of those solar-powered, hand-crank radios. Toss in clothing that will keep you warm and dry. Don't forget the automatic teller machines could be dead so put some cash in the box too.

Keep the gas tank at least half full. No electricity means gas pumps won't work.

Have the family agree on a relative or friend who lives outside the area or in another state to be the contact person. Everyone could then communicate with each other through that person if Seattle's phone system goes down.

When neighborhoods get organized into specialized teams, Jordan urged that they hold practice drills to drive home the plan.

Washington faces a greater variety of potential natural disasters than any other state, Jordan said. Residents could face volcano, lahar, tsunami, seiche, tornado, hurricane-force winds, avalanche, fire or bird flu pandemic.

There are also unnatural disasters such as hazardous material spills and terrorism.

The most common disasters in the state result from bad weather, which can produce landslides due to heavy rain, flooding, snow storms and power outages.

When it comes to major disasters though, earthquakes are Washington's most likely cause for catastrophe.

People used to be advised to seek shelter in a doorway during an earthquake. According to JoAnn Jordan from the Office of Emergency Management, that is no longer considered sound advice.

Doorways can be difficult to reach during an earthquake and lots of people get injured trying to get to one, she said. Doors also can open and close violently during a quake and hurt people.

The safest place to survive an earthquake is under a desk, table or counter inside a house, Jordan said.

If you can't get under something sturdy, sit on the floor with your back against an inside wall of the house, and cover your neck and head.

The third option is to get your body lower than chairs, sofas, tables and other furniture in the room that could keep parts of the house from falling on you.

If you are inside when the quake starts, stay there, Jordan said. If in bed, stay there and cover your head. It's a good idea to keep a pair of sturdy shoes under the bed, Jordan said.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.