Would Utah be ready to withstand a disaster?

On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States woke up about terrorism.

In February 2002, state and local government agencies teamed up for the Winter Olympics.

Now, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, area emergency service providers say it's time for everybody to wise up about natural disasters: They are devastating lessons on the power of nature and the limits of government.

"The public needs to know the federal government isn't the end-all, do-all," said Capt. Klint Anderson, spokesman for the Weber County Sheriff's Office. A natural disaster brings terrible logistical problems for local, state and federal agencies that oversee communications, transportation, utilities and public safety, he said. And for all the resources the government has, the past two weeks are clear evidence that the response to the Gulf Coast disaster was unacceptably slow.

"Government isn't set up to deal with a massive amount of caring for people," says Scott Freitag, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

Proof of that seems to be in the current criticism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, its boss reassigned and its operation under fire.

For all the inefficiency FEMA is blamed for in New Orleans, blame was not part of its effort earlier this year in southern Utah when heavy rains caused flooding and destroyed numerous homes.

Jensen said the state's experience with FEMA and use of the agency's resources was a good one, although the scope of the Utah disaster was much smaller than that which swamped the Gulf Coast.

Local and state agencies have to understand that FEMA doesn't automatically show up to any disaster, said Bob Carey, earthquake program manager for the state's Division of Homeland Security.

If a city declares a state of emergency, the county's resources are unlocked, he said. If a disaster grows beyond a county's resources, the county declares a state of emergency. If the need for resources continues to grow, a state can make the same declaration.

The state's declaration opens the way for FEMA, Carey said. Storms, such as the one that hit the Gulf Coast, can be predicted to a point, and some federal resources were put in place beforehand.

But in the event of the most serious natural disaster likely to hit Utah — a major earthquake during a weeklong snowstorm — no forewarning is possible.

A 7.2-magnitude quake killing 1,300 to 2,100 people is the worst case scenario anticipated for Salt Lake City. The situation would be compounded if the earthquake happened during a blizzard, Carey said.

Being prepared