How to Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part One

On Sunday April 4^th, 2010 millions of families from California and Mexico who were sitting down to Easter dinner, were jolted by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. According to Lucy Jones of the US Geological Survey, the powerful quake, centered near the city of Calexico, was felt by nearly 20 million people, from Baja to Los Angeles and as far away as the Bay Area, Las Vegas and Phoenix. The quake, was most damaging to the city of Calexico, which by mid-afternoon on Monday, was reporting that nearly 80% of its buildings had been red-tagged, a designation that means a building is uninhabitable. The quake devastated their downtown area and jangled the nerves of people throughout the Southwest, especially after recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part One

As longtime residents of Southern California, we know how difficult it can be to spend the days and weeks after a quake, living in earthquake mode.  The phenomenon isn’t really something you can explain to someone who hasn’t experience it personally.  New Californians are always asking how they’ll know if what they feel is a quake, or just an especially loud garbage truck.  There’s only one answer to that question.  You’ll know! 

And sure enough when it happens, they’ll say, “you were absolutely right!”  An earthquake combines two things that most humans hate– the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.  Feeling like the floor is going to crack open and swallow you, while listening to your house, cracking and groaning, while glass, bricks and your best china crashing to the ground around you, is a horrible sensation.

So what’s the best way to prepare for an earthquake?

Earthquakes are probably the most difficult type of disaster to prepare for, for two reasons.  First, there is absolutely no warning when one is going to strike.  Second, you never know how or where it’s going to strike.  Two earthquakes of the same magnitude aren’t necessarily going to have the same destructive capability. 

A shallow 5.0 quake, can potentially create more damages and injury than a 7.0 quake centered deep within the earth.  Shallow earthquakes mean more shaking and more cracks and fissures in the earth, which in turn damages more  buildings, streets and injures more people.  You also have to factor in how close the earthquake is to your home and where your home is located.  We once experienced a 1.5 quake that was centered very close to our home and knocked books off the shelves – while a 6.4 earthquake 30 or 40 miles away got us out of bed, but left our possessions exactly where the were the night before.

In earthquake country “location, location, location couldn’t be more true.  Remember the parable of the man who built his house on the sand versus the man who built his on the rock?  Those guys must have lived in earthquake country!   It’s called liquefaction.  Especially in California, in areas where there are high concentrations of sand in the soil – aka high priced beach communities – the violent shaking of an earthquake causes water underground to rise up through the sandy soil, turning pseudo solid earth beneath homes to turn into liquid, swallowing anything above it – houses, stores, freeway on ramps.  Making sure that your home is build on rock solid ground is a great first step to long term earthquake safety.

The final reason that earthquakes are so hard to prepare for, is that they tend to happen very early in the morning.  Imagine being shaken out of a sound sleep, only to realize that your bed, your walls and your floor are all moving in opposite directions, while you try and remember the first item on your disaster checklist!  Not going to happen!

So how do we prepare?  By taking a two-pronged approach.

The first step, is to make sure that you have your earthquake survival gear and know how to secure your home and personal safety when an earthquake strikes.

The second, is to make sure that you’re able to grab everything you need – necessities, keepsakes, vital information – and leave for a safer location, in less than ten minutes.   Which is a lot easier than it sounds.

Continued in part two…

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part Two

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part Three

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

 

Buy Paperback Edition $24.99         Buy Downloadable Edition $8.00

More Amazing Things You Can Do In 5 Minutes Or Less

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Smartphone

How To Create Your Family’s Evacuation Plan

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

Learn how to put an ICE Contact on every type of smartphone in just minutes with The ICE My Phone Kit! Paperback Edition $14.99   Buy now at Amazon.com  Downloadable PDF Edition $5.00 Buy Now  Read more about it

---

The Book Inspired By The Blog. The Backup Plan 3.0

The Backup Plan 3.0, is filled with quick, easy, 5 minute steps you can take right now, to get everything that’s important to you organized, safe, sound and accessible.  Each section covers a different area, from backing up and fixing family photos, home movies and music, to vital documents, medical and financial information and even getting your digital life in order.  This special Bonus Edition includes 7 downloadable Bonus Books.  Paperback Edition $24.99   Buy now at Amazon.com  Downloadable PDF Edition $8.00  Buy Now       Read more about it

I don’t know about you, but the most important keepsakes in our house are our old family photos, followed closely by our home movies and music.  The problem is, grabbing piles of photo albums and all of the picture frames off the walls is hard to do if you have to get out of the house quickly. With How To Back Up Your Photos, Videos and Music, you’ll learn quick, easy steps to back up your print/digital photos, home movies, cassettes, vinyl albums and archive them in multiple, disaster proof locations.     $12.95   Buy now at Amazon.com    Read more about it
Raise Money & Save Lives!  Free Customized Editions of our books make a great fundraiser for your organization, company, or an extra stream of income for you.  

Your Business Continuity Plan May Be Missing Something…  Like your employees, for instance?  If your city is struck by a tornado, earthquake or other disaster, it isn’t just your company that will be affected – so will your employees.  That’s why you need to make sure they’re as prepared for an emergency as YOU are.  Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered.  Read More About It

Like Us On Facebook

Follow Us On Twitter

Watch Our How-To Videos On YouTube

Join Us On Pinterest

Free Resources

Advertisements