Live on Earth? Then you live in a earthquake zone (your local activity may vary). When should you think about preparing for one? Um… Now!

FEMA - FEMA Asks: Are You Earthquake Prepared?

“KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Midwesterners expect and prepare for a variety of seasonal hazards such as extreme snow, ice, flooding, tornadoes and severe weather. But the non-seasonal threat of earthquakes may not register on every family’s hazard scale.

That’s why the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region VII is urging residents to become “Earthquake Prepared” by exercising a few safety measures to help prepare themselves for earthquakes and disasters of all types.

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Even though earthquakes are not frequent, residents should know what to do before, during and after one hits:

Before an earthquake occurs:

Consider purchasing earthquake insurance.

Buy a 20-gallon garbage can and fill it with emergency supplies.

Consider retrofitting your home to make it more resistant to earthquake damage.

Educate your children about earthquake safety.

Anchor heavy furniture, shelves, cupboards and appliances to the walls or floor. -

Store dangerous chemicals such as flammable liquids and poisons in a secure place.

Learn how to shut off the gas, electricity and water.

Have money in savings for post-catastrophic expenses that aren’t covered by your earthquake insurance policy. These expenses may include higher insurance deductible and repair or replacement claims that exceed your policy limits.

When an earthquake hits, what to do if you’re indoors:

DROP to the ground;

Take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and

HOLD ON until the shaking stops. Cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.

Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall

Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.

Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.

Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.

When an earthquake hits, what to do if you’re outdoors:

Stay there. Drop, Cover and Hold.

Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.

Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits, and alongside exterior walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

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FEMA – Earthquake

FEMA – Earthquake Publications and Resources(Individuals and Homeowners)

Earthquake Publications and Resources(Individuals and Homeowners) - Earthquake Home Hazard Hunt Poster

Look, it’s not hard. It’s nothing to be scared about. It’s just smart. Prepare a little at a time. Make it a family project or event. Whatever you need to do, just start doing it. Baby steps, little at a time and you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll become better prepared for whatever happens.

The more you sweat and prepare now, the less you’ll bleed later (errr… scary… sorry… Army training flashback… but you get the idea… )

So do I walk the walk? Mostly. For the last 5 years, every Christmas I buy my parents and my family “preparedness” gifts (yeah… I know… but they’ll thank me when something happens… lol). So every year we’re building up, and adding too, a set of supplies, a little at a time.

Things I need to do:

Strap down stuff. I’ve bought a number of earthquake strap kits, etc. Now I just need to actually install them… lol.
Consolidate and build an inventory. We have a bunch of supplies, equipment, things, etc now. But they are in different locations in the house (mostly in the back of closets). I need to take all this stuff, put it in a lockable, water tight and safe location outside the house. While I do that I need to inventory it and note shelf life (like the 5 year water things that are set to expire next year, etc)
Bring supplies to work. I have a good number of supplies in my trunk, but I’d also like kits (like Red Cross 3 day packs) for me and my team inside our workplace. (BTW, every year I like to buy a couple Red Cross 3 day packs and stash them in different places, give them to family or friends, etc.)

Just some of the things I thought about when preparing:

Power
How/where are you going to charge your Cell if power is out for an extended period? Radios? TV’s? Batteries (fresh ones), generators (on my wish list) and power invertors (i.e. plug stuff into your car)

Cash
No power, no phones, no ATM’s, no Credit Cards… Have cash stashed. Not allot, but how much cash do you carry anymore? None? A couple bucks? Yeah, me too. So if you had to put your hands on some 20’s because the gas station, local store, etc isn’t taking credit cards…?

Living in your backyard
House is unsafe. Local hotels are full. No FEMA trailers. You want to protect your property. Think about what it would take to camp out in your backyard for a few weeks. Think about cooking, cleaning, sanitation (no running water, no flushing), weather, etc

Water
You can live for weeks without food, but in three days without water… Think about caches of clean water. How to clean dirty water.

Pets
They are part of your family too. What about feeding them? etc

And that’s just the tip…

Yeah, seems like allot doesn’t it? Well think about thinking about all that just after the ground stop shaking…