Earthquakes - Are You Prepared?

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Must You Experience An Earthquake or Other Disaster To Get the Incentive To Prepare for the Next One?

Recently, a series of earthquakes in the Western Pacific area have not only caused collapsed buildings and mudslides, but have generated devastating tsunami. The earthquakes have included those near Samoa/American Samoa, Vanuatu, Indonesia, and the Philippines--the RSS feed below provides more information and maps for these deadly natural disasters.


I live in Earthquake Country. But then again, almost anywhere on Earth can experience earthquakes--it's just that in my area (the San Andreas Fault Area of California), the quakes are more frequent and have been historically more devastating than elsewhere. Before coming to California, I lived for 12 years on the Western Pacific island of Guam--and because Guam was on an edge of a major tectonic plate (home of the Marianas Trench!), we had frequent large earthquakes there, too.


The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was on April 18th. Each year, the City of San Francisco has a commemoration ceremony and other events to continue awareness of what earthquakes can do in our area.


The Earth is constantly moving--not in the obvious things such as the air with the winds and storms and in the water with the tides and currents, but in the ground. The molten core of the Earth has its own currents--and the "tectonic plates" of the Earth's crust ride and move on this molten core. Most of this movement is slow and subtle and not very obvious--unless one experiences when one plate rubs against another or jerks loose during a subduction or upheaval resulting in an earthquake or when the molten magma finds a way through a weak part of the crust--resulting in a volcano.


The Earth is busy--Check the RSS news-feed below to see all the quakes happening by the minute!


This may be a good time to learn a bit about the power and devastation of these natural occurrences--and to prepare for that next "big one". There's more about earthquakes below.


The tips and survival gear presented here can also be helpful for preparing for typhoons, hurricanes, blizzards, and other types of disasters.

It's A Shakin'! And We're Watching It! Here are the headlines! 

Be sure to check this lens frequently--the following list updates daily, if not hourly. You can see what seismic activity is happening all over the world.

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News on the Illinois (U.S. Midwest) Earthquake! 

It's a Shakin' All Over!

Earthquake hits southern part of Illinois

Earthquake shakes Illinois and is felt all over the midwest.

curated content from YouTube

Links for the Great Earthquake of San Francisco on April 18, 1906 

Government Archives--The Great San Francisco Quake
This website has a wide collection of pictures and stories of the great quake.
Eyewitness to History Website on the Great San Francisco Quake
This website has a good collection of stories and pictures from the quake.
U.S. Geological Survey Website on the Great San Francisco Earthquake
The U.S. Geological Survey website has a lot of tips for preparation as well as educational materials for preparing for a big quake.
Virtual Museum for the City of San Francisco, Webpage on the Great San Francisco Earthquake
This Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco has many eye-witness accounts of the Great Quake--from residents who went through this massive event.
ZPUB.com Webpage on the San Francisco Great Quake
This webpage provides statistics, pictures, and many discussions of the events surrounding the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
About.Com Webpage on the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
This website has pictures and the story about the quake from compiled research.
Berkeley Seismological Laboratory Web Page on the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
This webpage produced by the Berkelely Seismological Laboratory provides their analysis and account of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
SLU Webpage on the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake
In addition to the story of the event, this webpage also has many links to photographs and other references.

San Francisco Earthquake 1989 - Taiwan Earthquake 1999 Videos 

Earthquake Destruction

See earthquakes pound San Francisco and pulverize Taiwan. http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/?source=4001

curated content from YouTube

Get a Plan. Gather the Supplies. NOW! 

What Part of "NOW" Do You Not Understand?

Waiting until the disaster (earthquake, hurricane, typhoon, tsunami, flood, blizzard, wildfire, and so on) strikes is not wise... and it can be rough, if not particularly deadly on you and your family.

Think about where you live.

Have disasters of any kind EVER happened near where you live? (by the way, tornados HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN EVERY STATE and EVERY CONTINENT--essentially ANYWHERE... they don't just occur only in Kansas, Dorothy!)

Make a list of what can happen.

On Guam, our main concern was typhoons, of course, but also earthquakes and the resulting tsunami. We also had to be aware of storm-surge flooding. So, if we lived near a beach or in a low-lying area compared to the surroundings, we'd have to be aware of flooding risks as well.

Here in California (right on the San Andreas Fault--not to mention the other hundreds of smaller, less-well-known faults), earthquake awareness is a necessity! In the central valley, flooding is also a concern. Along the coast, tsunami-risk is also a concern (in addition to the earthquake, mudslide, flooding, and other risks).

In Montana, we'd know that winters can be extremely cold and the blizzards are unforgiving. Annual seasonal flooding from the snowmelt can be a significant risk, as can avalanche danger in the mountains. Some major earthquakes have also happened in Montana--in particular, one on the Gallatin River back in the 1950s that basically collapsed the side of a mountain and created a landfill dam (and killed many campers and residents who were living in the canyon).

Make a list of your family members and their special needs (medical, physical, etc.)

With the list of your family members, make sure you keep records of medical prescriptions, and other important papers in a plastic/waterproof bag that you can grab and escape with in case of an emergency.

Plan your escape route(s), and plan your meeting places!

If your family is caught in your house when the earthquake hits, have a safe place designated in your house that is known to all family members.

As soon as the shaking is over, check for gas and water leaks--if you smell gas, shut off the gas at the main valve. If the water pipes are broken, shut off the water. (If you don't smell gas, don't shut off the gas.--read more about this on some of the resources listed below.)

If your family is separated during the quake--the kids are in school, dad and mom are at work--have a gathering or meeting place pre-arranged such as a local park or other location in case your home is no longer inhabitable.

Make sure that all your out-of-area/out-of-state relatives and friends know to NOT try to call you after the disaster. The phone lines will be jammed after an event like this. It will be easier for you to call out and notify a designated out-of-state friend or family member who can spread the word about your situation.

In your garage or easily accessable closet, store emergency supplies

Replenish and refresh these supplies regularly so they won't be stale if a disaster strikes.

In our garage, we have one of those large, plastic, sealable-lid, garbage-containers with wheels as our emergency stash. In this container, we have bottles of water, extra clothing, first-aid-kit, crank-powered radio-light, gas/water shut-off tool, light-sticks, dried food and meals-ready-to-eat (MRE), flashlights, batteries, gloves for each member of the family, dust masks, and other protective gear.

On shelves in the garage, we have our campstove, extra self-contained propane containers, tent, tarps, plastic sheets, duct tape, tools, and other gear.

In our area, the weather ranges from about 110 degrees F in the summer to as low as 20 degrees F in the winter, so we have to keep the appropriate types of clothing available for the particular season. If you live in the tropics, obviously you wouldn't need to keep a parka handy. On the other hand, if you live in blizzard and avalanche country, a pair of swimming trunks might not be an essential thing to have on hand.

More views of the 1989 San Francisco Loma Prieta Quake 

California Earthquake Part 2

The aftermath of the Loma Prieta Earthquake Oct 17, 1989.

curated content from YouTube

Batten Down Your Hatches! Tie Down Those Bookcases and Other Big Furniture! 

If you live in earthquake areas (and probably even if you don't!), you should tie down things like your water heater, bookcases, desk hutches, and large, high cabinets to keep them from tipping or flying across the room.

You can buy the mounts, straps, and ties at local hardware stores--make sure you fasten the straps to studs in the wall.

In earthquake areas of California (which is most of California), inspectors make sure that the frame of the house is BOLTED to the foundation--and that the foundation is secured in concrete and or bedrock. This keeps the house from shifting during the quake and from settling. If the building is built on sand or loose dirt rather than bedrock, an earthquake can cause a phenomenon called liquification--and the building could sink into the ground and warp and break apart from the stress.

Survival Kit for Disasters-- Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Typhoons, Floods, and so on 

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More Vids of Quakes! Rockin' and a Rollin' and Shakin' and Quakin'...Prepare for it Now! 


THE GREAT HANSHIN-AWAJI EARTHQUAKE (02)

震災 あの日のあの場所

Earthquake in Geiyo, Japan

Earthquake in Kobe, Japan

Los Angeles Earthquake

The Great San Francisco EarthQuake of 1989

Moments after the Great San Francisco Earth Quake of 1989

Earthquake Destruction

9.1 Sumatra earthquake
curated content from YouTube

Part of Disaster Survival Depends on Preparation. Are You Prepared? 

Read Up and Stock Up On Disaster Preparedness!

Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook by Doug King

Emergency Disaster Survival Guidebook by Doug King

THANKS to author Doug King for the excellent info. more...0 points

Survival Kit Deluxe Emergency Disaster Preparedness 72 Hour Backpack Kits for Home, Work or Auto: 4 Person

Survival Kit Deluxe Emergency Disaster Preparedness 72 Hour Backpack Kits for Home, Work or Auto: 4 Person

Kit Includes: 1 x Backpack 4 x 2400 Cal. Food Bar more...0 points

WEATHER CHANNEL Emergency Preparedness Disaster Survival Kit for 2 Person

WEATHER CHANNEL Emergency Preparedness Disaster Survival Kit for 2 Person

Knowing that you and your family are prepared with more...0 points

First Alert Emergency Preparedness Kit

First Alert Emergency Preparedness Kit

FIRST ALERT SEK-100 Emergency Preparedness Kit Cra more...0 points

More Earthquake Disaster Preparedness Resources for You! 

Federal Emergency Management Agency--Earthquake Pages
FEMA presents a lot of good information on preparing for earthquakes, how to protect oneself during an earthquake, and what to do after an earthquake. Good stuff!
The American Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Site
The American Red Cross has great information that is useful for preparing for disasters. You can see a subpage with earthquake specific tips here: Earthquake Preparation Tips
The United States Geological Survey Earthquake Preparedness Site
A good site with information on preparing for and surviving earthquakes. Northern California information that can be applied elsewhere as well.
American Rescue Team Earthquake Page
This website provides good suggestions for earthquake preparation and survival.
San Francisco Earthquake Preparation Materials
A good website with information on how to prepare for earthquakes. Could be applicable for other disasters as well.

Earthquakes--Japan, Southern California, Simulations, Mexico City, Alaska, Australia 

earthquake

Ito city,1989 southern California,1989 Mexico city,1985 Alaska,1964 Australia,1989 San Francisco,1989

curated content from YouTube

Don't Quake in Your Boots! Drop a Note! Write a Missive! Shake the Ink Out! 

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  • Reply
    BarbRad BarbRad May 9, 2009 @ 3:30 am
    I had to deal with the damage in the Paso Robles earthquake. I live five minutes from the building that fell and killed the two women. I'm very lucky no bookcases fell on me. You can see the pictures of what happens when the bookcases aren't secured in the lens I wrote on the Paso Robles Earthquake. It's not fun, and I'm still making repairs five years later.
  • Reply
    d-artist d-artist Sep 17, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
    I can't stand to be in an earthquake! when I lived in Calif. it was part of living there, now I deal with Tornado's... wish I knew the perfect place! 5*s
  • Reply
    eccles1 eccles1 Aug 29, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
    I was going to make a lens about earthquakes and this is alot better then I would have done! you did a great job I'll come back later and do more checking out love this lens we had alot of earthquakes here in NV. last month I didn't know we lived in fault lines!! thank you
  • Reply
    NAIZA NAIZA May 15, 2008 @ 9:55 am
    Yeah, I heard about that earthquake happened in the Philippines way back 1993 if I was not mistaken. I am just seven years old then. It was really devastating for a lot of Filipinos when that disaster happen. Again lately in China, it does happen again and it costs a lot of lives so sad.;-(
  • Reply
    EverythingMouse EverythingMouse May 1, 2008 @ 2:55 am
    An excellent lens on a subject that I need to know more about. I live in Southern California and was evacuated during the last fire.
  • Reply
    flicker flicker Oct 27, 2007 @ 9:15 pm
    Nice lens. Five stars. Good to hear from someone with personal experience.
  • Reply
    brettkun brettkun Oct 21, 2007 @ 1:03 am
    Very Useful well thought out lense, And Nice To Meet You! Makurasuki Sensei yori
  • Reply
    ShortSaleRealtor ShortSaleRealtor Oct 17, 2007 @ 11:01 am
    great lens and helpful information 5 stars 4 u

by EditorDave

Living on Guam is what now "defines" me.  It was such a dramatic difference in my life and outlook on things that there's no way I'd be the same...

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