In recent years, he was worried that his training would be of no use.

"It's not that you want something like a disaster to happen, but without an earthquake to shake things up, things waned a bit," Richter said.

But with Hurricane Katrina laying waste to much of the South, Richter said he saw a chance to use his acquired skills.

"It's not like a tsunami, where you can't just up and go over there, so you send a check," Richter said. "When something happens closer to home, you can do something to help."

He was alerted to American Red Cross training for the Katrina Hurricane disaster relief efforts through notices at work and a message from his local SNAP group.

On Sept. 1, Richter finished a two-day training session and then flew to Houston to receive his assignments.

Before leaving, Richter said he didn't know what to expect flying into the affected areas.

"It's one of those mixed emotion times," he said. "It could be uplifting; it could help put things in perspective, but it could also be really hard."

Richter said that when he started the Red Cross training he was asked what areas he would like to help in, and if he had any specialized training. Because his professional knowledge mainly focuses on Cisco computer systems--his day job--Richter said he'd help wherever most needed. He will likely help with serving food or helping people find shelter.

But because of his SNAP training--which includes first aid and CPR, some search and rescue work and communications--he may be called on to do other jobs. Richter said he doesn't know how long he will be there, but is looking to spend a week helping out. Anymore than that would conflict with his work and family responsibilities.

SNAP is just under a decade old, and has already established itself as a leader in community preparation training.

There are some 300 SNAP groups in Sunnyvale, organized around neighborhood groups. Each has a captain and six disaster task committees that handle communications, disaster assessment, first aid, safety and security, search and rescue and sheltering and special needs.

"It's a good training program," he said. "When you do something like that, it helps your confidence. I think I'm prepared for whatever the heck may happen."