Getting Back To Life After An Earthquake

Posted in Earthquake, How To, Life Hacks, The Backup Plan, Travel Safety, Videos by Laura Greenwald

Updated 3/8/21

This post isn’t just about getting ready for disasters — it’s about getting back to LIFE after a disaster.

That’s something very few people talk about. Yet millions upon millions of people are facing that question right this moment. How do we get back to our normal lives after this magnitude of disaster. It’s the third piece in a series and you’ll find the links to the other two parts below.

Not only does the series tell you how to prepare for an earthquake, but it gives you tips on being prepared for ANY disaster — the right way! In case you didn’t see part one and two, you’ll find the links at the end of the post.

Facing a disaster without giving yourself a plan to recover from it, is like trying to build a house with no blueprint and no tools!

Having two plans can make all the difference, in getting you through those first few days and weeks after a disaster strikes. What are the plans? They are our Evacuation Plan and the Get Back To Life Plan — the same plans that we’ve built into our book Keep Everything You Love Safe. The evacuation plan is pretty simple. It all comes from one question… If you were at home or at work and suddenly had to evacuate your home, or your general area, where would you go?

As you think about the locations you’ll use for your evacuation, consider, the people travelling with you, how you’ll get there (car, bus, plane), any pets travelling with you and whether those locations will actually work for you – for instance are they close to stores or services your family might need, like pharmacies, clothing, banks and doctors.

We suggest that people have three different locations in mind, to give you different types of locations and choices depending on the circumstances. As you create your plan, write everything down in detail. If you have to use this plan, you and the people you love are probably going to be in panic mode and following an easy to understand plan, will help calm and focus you.

Write down the people who will be travelling with you, and any special instructions you’ll need to gather everyone together, in case a disaster or emergency occurs while you’re all away from home. Name the location that you and your family will use to meet up with each other and the location you will be evacuating to, if you cannot live in your home, but your immediate area is still safe. Include the address of the location, contact phone, email address and directions.

Next choose a location (writing down the details, address and contact information) that your family will use if you not only need to evacuate your home, but your immediate area or city. This might happen during a moderate hurricane or a tornado. Your third location is out of state, for a serious, widely destructive emergency like Hurricane Katrina, the Iceland Volcano, or other disaster that will make your entire region uninhabitable.

You will also include these locations in your family’s ICE Contacts and emergency wallet cards. Now, no matter what the disaster, even a fire or local emergency, you and your family will now know where and how to gather, and who will be responsible for what, so you can quickly reunite and travel on to your emergency location together. If you like, you can also give a card to the person you chose to be your out-of-area contact as well. Will you have any pets travelling with you? Be sure to fill out the pet section, so that you will have all the information you need for them, like the name and numbers for the veterinarian, their licenses, and names/numbers of kennels in the location you are evacuating to and any prescriptions or special instructions you’ll need until you return home.

So are YOU prepared to deal with an earthquake? Let’s see how Victoria Beckham dealt with an “earthquake” when they moved to LA. Okay it was a simulator, but you’ll get the idea… And so did she 🙂

Your Get Back To Life Plan

The worst part of any disaster, short of losing a loved one, is the possibility that the home you love and care for and everything in it would be damaged beyond repair. That is what your Get Back To Life Plan is all about.

Imagine that you and your family have survived an earthquake, but had to leave your area because it is uninhabitable. You’re in your evacuation location two days after the hurricane subsides. The phone rings. It’s a good friend of yours, who has just toured your neighborhood and is calling to tell you that your home is badly damaged and he doubts that you will be able to live in it for several months, if ever again. After you and your family hold each other for a while and talk, you finally feel strong enough to open your Ready Notebook. There you find your Get Back To Life Plan and begin making calls to your insurance agent, your contractor and your boss. You call the local real estate agent in your evacuation city and ask her to begin looking for temporary housing, register your children in the local school, and begin calling the contacts you need (that you jotted down just in case), to help you settle in. Getting settled is easier than you thought, since you have copies of all of the vital documents you need, like your birth certificates and property deeds in a safe deposit box at the local bank. It takes some time, but with hard work and a lot of courage, you and your family are back to living in a matter of weeks.

Now imagine the same scenario, the same phone call, holding your family, talking and then realizing that you have no plan and no clue how to get back to living your life. It’s CNN coverage all over again. The best part of this little scenario is that it hasn’t happened to you and that you have time right now, to make sure no matter what ever occurs in your area, you and your family will be prepared.

Either download our Get Back To Life Plan, or grab a piece of paper. Take a few minutes to answer the following questions:

How will we handle our bank accounts, paying our monthly bills and receiving our paychecks? How much emergency cash do we need to have, while traveling?
What are our credit card limits and toll free numbers for emergency increases?
How will we work? Will we work remotely or have to look for new positions? What people or contacts can we call about temporary or permanent jobs?
How will we handle our medical, dental and prescription needs while in the new location? What doctors and dentists can we use while there?
How long can we stay in our evacuation location? If we need to remain evacuated longer, where will we go/stay? Who will our real estate contacts be, if we need to find new permanent or temporary housing?
How are we going to secure the property or vehicles we had to leave behind?
How will we take care of our pets, during the evacuation and until we find new permanent housing?
How will we handle our transportation needs? What contacts will we need to purchase or lease vehicles?
How will we handle our daycare needs? How will we handle getting our children into school if necessary? What schools or contacts will we need, to enroll them in a new school in a temporary or new location?
How will we handle any special needs in our family?

Once you’ve answered the questions, get your family together to work out any potential problems you have uncovered and then draft your plan. And don’t forget to compile a list of real estate agents, financial contacts and jobs, schools, doctors and other professionals or information that you might need to establish yourself in the new city temporarily or permanently.

Starting over is never easy, especially when it happens because of a disaster or other life changing emergency. But taking a few hours now to think through and draft a plan, will give you and your family the direction, information and support that you need, to get through not only the first hours and days after a disaster, but the first steps back to living the life you’ve worked so hard to build.

In case you missed any parts of the series, here are the links to the first two posts…

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part One

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part Two

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

Ready In 10 | 10 Steps. 10 Days. Ready For Almost Anything.

This cutting-edge system is designed to help you get the information you need, keepsakes you treasure and people you love, through life’s little and not so little disasters. In one piece. So you can get back to living your normal life, as quickly and painlessly as possible. Paperback Or Instant Download

How To Organize Your Digital Life

How To Organize Your Digital Life gives a place to record all of your passwords, account information and even emergency instructions, along with secure ways to access them remotely, putting your social media life and your business life exactly where it belongs. At your fingertips. Paperback Or Instant Download

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

Posted in Earthquake, The Backup Plan by Laura Greenwald

Updated 9/28/21

Even though Melanie grew up in Southern California, when she actually felt an earthquake for the first time, she didn’t know what to do first.

And if you’ve ever gone through an earthquake you know what she means. Our first “real” shaker was the Whittier quake and it was so strong it had me pinned to the bed. That’s why it’s so important to have the things you need at your fingertips, before the quake strikes.

And with the way the world has been the last few years — from hurricanes to wildfires, tornadoes and oh yeah, COVID — having ways to keep your family safe and connected no matter WHAT is happening around you, is more important than ever.

One of the reasons 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 helplessly try to remember the first item on your disaster checklist.

Which is why Melanie was running around pulling thing after thing out of her closet yelling, “WHERE ARE MY EARTHQUAKE CLOTHES???!!!”

Of course, a few minutes later she realized she didn’t even need to leave her house the whole wardrobe thing ended up being a non-issue. What she was really looking for was a way to regain a sense of control. Her way of doing that just happened to be fashion.

Which is why Melanie was running around pulling thing after thing out of her closet yelling, “WHERE ARE MY EARTHQUAKE CLOTHES???!!!”

As longtime residents of Southern California we know how hard people work to get their offices, their homes and their garages ready for an earthquake. But since most earthquakes happen in the wee hours of the morning, people don’t have their basic supplies where they need to be. Their bedroom.

So let’s take care of that right now.

There are two things to keep in mind while making your bedroom earthquake safe.

Safety and Communication

Safety

Make your bedroom as safe as possible, during and after an earthquake, by storing earthquake and first aid supplies near your bed and anchoring items and furniture that might fall or break.

Your Emergency Kit

First, get a sturdy metal or heavy plastic box to hold your basic emergency supplies. Make sure that it closes well and is heavy enough to stay where you put it, even during intense shaking.

Put it directly under your bed, so that you can grab it easily without having to get out of the bed.

In this box, place:

A whistle, a few protein bars, a few bottles of water, a small flashlight, small emergency radio, a first aid kit and a portable charger that will give you extra battery life for cell phones. The rest of your supplies – whatever you feel would be necessary for you and your family – can go into the closet beneath your earthquake clothes.

Next to the box, place a pair of rubber-soled shoes for you and your spouse. If you have kids, their shoes and a small flashlight should go under their beds.

The instant an earthquake wakes you – especially if it’s one that causes a lot of damage – put your shoes on before you get out of bed. There might be broken glass or debris on the floor. That goes double if you have to leave your home. Outside you could encounter rocks, pieces of brick from chimneys or downed power lines.

The Closet

Choose a generic earthquake outfit. If it’s cold out, jeans and a sweatshirt or warm sweater, plus a warm jacket and socks. If it’s warmer, jeans, light layers and a light jacket and socks. If you have to leave your home, you won’t necessarily get back in for hours or days. Store that outfit together at the end of your closet nearest to your bed, so you can grab the clothes and put them on without wasting time thinking about it. As much as we love you Melanie, this is no time for high fashion!

Right below your earthquake clothes, place a small box with the rest of your earthquake supplies.

This should include a hand-crank or battery powered radio, a larger flashlight, extra batteries, a few more bottles of water, high calorie or high protein food that will stay fresh for a year, a can opener (the one we love opens cans without leaving sharp edges ), a small stash of cash, and if you have one, a portable television with an antenna. One other thing you can include is a small generator.

If anyone in your family needs glasses, contact lenses or prescription drugs, throw those in as well. If they or you need refrigerated insulin, consider buying a small portable refrigerator for your bedroom. Even if the electricity goes out, the refrigerator will remain cold enough for a few hours, until you can get help. Then place a reminder on your calendar every few months, to recycle the perishable items in your kit with fresh items.

Furniture

Make sure all of the cabinets, pictures, mirrors, televisions and anything else breakable in your bedroom are anchored down, so they don’t turn into earthquake driven torpedoes that can harm you or your family. Carol Burnett had a close call during the Northridge Quake when a television flew off her bookcase and landed on her bed. Even though she always laid on that side, that night she had trouble sleeping and switched to the other side of the bed!

The best things we’ve found to anchor furniture and breakable objects without harming them is Quakehold. Quakehold straps secure furniture like bookcases while blending right into your decor.

Do you have breakable figurines, picture frames or glass keepsakes in bookcases or on dressers? If so, anchor the bottom of the keepsake to the surface with Quakehold Museum Wax. It holds items securely to a surface without harming either. And if it’s in a bookcase, be sure to affix the keepsake to the back of the bookcase as well for extra safety.

If you have the space, move a heavy piece of furniture into your bedroom that you and your spouse can use for shelter during a quake. A heavy table or a desk you can both fit under is ideal.

Communication

Make sure you can easily connect with the world around you, from your bedroom.

After an earthquake, if the electricity is still on, turn on the TV or radio, so you’ll have a friendly voice there in the room with you and you won’t feel isolated or alone. Besides true Angelenos always bet on how big the earthquake was and never go back to bed until they hear Dr. Kate Hutton’s report on the preliminary magnitude from Cal Tech, so they can see who won the bet.

Keep one cell phone in the room with you at night, where you can easily reach it. And get into the habit of plugging it into the charger like the Spin Power Electric Charging Station when you get home in the evening so it will always be ready to go whenever you need it.

You’re probably wondering why we mentioned putting a whistle in your emergency kit. When the Northridge earthquake hit, many apartment residents were trapped in their bedrooms and had to be rescued.

A whistle can help you communicate your location to rescue teams. That and a cell phone with GPS are both are a good idea.

If you have a landline phone, keep it. Cell phones are great, but the chances of cell towers being down after an earthquake are much more likely than phone lines being inoperable. And even if they’re up and running, cell traffic, tweeting, Instagram and texting skyrocket after an earthquake, overwhelming the circuits.

Give yourself as many alternate ways of communicating as possible. Preferably a smartphone, satellite phone, landline phone and a notebook, iPad, or tablet with Wi-Fi access.

Don’t forget, that if you need to check on local friends or relatives, it’s usually easier to call long distance numbers, than local numbers after an earthquake. It’s smart to appoint an out of town contact for all of your family members to check in with, until your communications within the quake zone return to normal.

Taking a few minutes to make your room earthquake friendly now, can make all the difference when you really need it.

High Tech Toys

Here are some high-tech toys are designed to help you get the information you need, keepsakes you treasure and people you love, through life’s little and not so little disasters and easily as possible. In other words, toys that are just waiting to smooth out life’s little speed bumps.

The COVID pandemic has created a new list of toys that people can’t do without — including some very cool high-tech solutions to unexpected challenges. Like staying healthy and working from home! Here are some of our favorites.

For a book’s worth of tips and tools on getting your stuff backed up and together, pick up a copy of our book “Ready In 10” or “Keep Everything You Love Safe” in paperback or via instant download.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

Ready In 10 | 10 Steps. 10 Days. Ready For Almost Anything.

How To Organize Your Digital Life

As Amazon Associates we earn commissions from qualifying purchases made from product links.

Updated 3/8/21

This post isn’t just about getting ready for disasters — it’s about getting back to LIFE after a disaster.

That’s something very few people talk about. Yet millions upon millions of people are facing that question right this moment. How do we get back to our normal lives after this magnitude of disaster. It’s the third piece in a series and you’ll find the links to the other two parts below.

Not only does the series tell you how to prepare for an earthquake, but it gives you tips on being prepared for ANY disaster — the right way! In case you didn’t see part one and two, you’ll find the links at the end of the post.

Facing a disaster without giving yourself a plan to recover from it, is like trying to build a house with no blueprint and no tools!

So are YOU prepared to deal with an earthquake? Let’s see how Victoria Beckham dealt with an “earthquake” when they moved to LA. Okay it was a simulator, but you’ll get the idea… And so did she 🙂

Your Get Back To Life Plan

The worst part of any disaster, short of losing a loved one, is the possibility that the home you love and care for and everything in it would be damaged beyond repair. That is what your Get Back To Life Plan is all about.

Either download our Get Back To Life Plan, or grab a piece of paper. Take a few minutes to answer the following questions:

How will we handle our bank accounts, paying our monthly bills and receiving our paychecks? How much emergency cash do we need to have, while traveling?

What are our credit card limits and toll free numbers for emergency increases?

How will we work? Will we work remotely or have to look for new positions? What people or contacts can we call about temporary or permanent jobs?

How will we handle our medical, dental and prescription needs while in the new location? What doctors and dentists can we use while there?

How long can we stay in our evacuation location? If we need to remain evacuated longer, where will we go/stay? Who will our real estate contacts be, if we need to find new permanent or temporary housing?

How are we going to secure the property or vehicles we had to leave behind?

How will we take care of our pets, during the evacuation and until we find new permanent housing?

How will we handle our transportation needs? What contacts will we need to purchase or lease vehicles?

How will we handle our daycare needs? How will we handle getting our children into school if necessary? What schools or contacts will we need, to enroll them in a new school in a temporary or new location?

How will we handle any special needs in our family?

In case you missed any parts of the series, here are the links to the first two posts…

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake – Part One

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

Ready In 10 | 10 Steps. 10 Days. Ready For Almost Anything.

How To Organize Your Digital Life

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

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Updated 9/28/21

Even though Melanie grew up in Southern California, when she actually felt an earthquake for the first time, she didn’t know what to do first.

And if you’ve ever gone through an earthquake you know what she means. Our first “real” shaker was the Whittier quake and it was so strong it had me pinned to the bed. That’s why it’s so important to have the things you need at your fingertips, before the quake strikes.

And with the way the world has been the last few years — from hurricanes to wildfires, tornadoes and oh yeah, COVID — having ways to keep your family safe and connected no matter WHAT is happening around you, is more important than ever.

Which is why Melanie was running around pulling thing after thing out of her closet yelling, “WHERE ARE MY EARTHQUAKE CLOTHES???!!!”

Of course, a few minutes later she realized she didn’t even need to leave her house the whole wardrobe thing ended up being a non-issue. What she was really looking for was a way to regain a sense of control. Her way of doing that just happened to be fashion.

Which is why Melanie was running around pulling thing after thing out of her closet yelling, “WHERE ARE MY EARTHQUAKE CLOTHES???!!!”

As longtime residents of Southern California we know how hard people work to get their offices, their homes and their garages ready for an earthquake. But since most earthquakes happen in the wee hours of the morning, people don’t have their basic supplies where they need to be. Their bedroom.

So let’s take care of that right now.

There are two things to keep in mind while making your bedroom earthquake safe.

Safety and Communication

Safety

Make your bedroom as safe as possible, during and after an earthquake, by storing earthquake and first aid supplies near your bed and anchoring items and furniture that might fall or break.

Your Emergency Kit

First, get a sturdy metal or heavy plastic box to hold your basic emergency supplies. Make sure that it closes well and is heavy enough to stay where you put it, even during intense shaking.

Put it directly under your bed, so that you can grab it easily without having to get out of the bed.

In this box, place:

Next to the box, place a pair of rubber-soled shoes for you and your spouse. If you have kids, their shoes and a small flashlight should go under their beds.

The Closet

Right below your earthquake clothes, place a small box with the rest of your earthquake supplies.

Furniture

The best things we’ve found to anchor furniture and breakable objects without harming them is Quakehold. Quakehold straps secure furniture like bookcases while blending right into your decor.

If you have the space, move a heavy piece of furniture into your bedroom that you and your spouse can use for shelter during a quake. A heavy table or a desk you can both fit under is ideal.

Communication

Make sure you can easily connect with the world around you, from your bedroom.

Keep one cell phone in the room with you at night, where you can easily reach it. And get into the habit of plugging it into the charger like the Spin Power Electric Charging Station when you get home in the evening so it will always be ready to go whenever you need it.

You’re probably wondering why we mentioned putting a whistle in your emergency kit. When the Northridge earthquake hit, many apartment residents were trapped in their bedrooms and had to be rescued.

A whistle can help you communicate your location to rescue teams. That and a cell phone with GPS are both are a good idea.

Give yourself as many alternate ways of communicating as possible. Preferably a smartphone, satellite phone, landline phone and a notebook, iPad, or tablet with Wi-Fi access.

Taking a few minutes to make your room earthquake friendly now, can make all the difference when you really need it.

High Tech Toys

Here are some high-tech toys are designed to help you get the information you need, keepsakes you treasure and people you love, through life’s little and not so little disasters and easily as possible. In other words, toys that are just waiting to smooth out life’s little speed bumps.

The COVID pandemic has created a new list of toys that people can’t do without — including some very cool high-tech solutions to unexpected challenges. Like staying healthy and working from home! Here are some of our favorites.

For a book’s worth of tips and tools on getting your stuff backed up and together, pick up a copy of our book “Ready In 10” or “Keep Everything You Love Safe” in paperback or via instant download.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together!

Ready In 10 | 10 Steps. 10 Days. Ready For Almost Anything.