4.08.2009

Earthquake Prep 101

What would YOU do in an earthquake? Are you prepared?

I was PERSONALLY in the San Fransisco earthquake of 1989! It was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced in my life- I was eight years old at the time, and was NOT prepared. I sat and slept in door jams for a week following, and am still SUPER sensitive to earthquakes (I can feel them even if VERY small, when no one else does)... We were at my grandma's house, my dad was in the hospital, and my Uncle was on the Bay Bridge. SCARY! I WISH I had been better prepared...

Did you know earthquakes don't just happen in California? They happen ALL over the place, ESPECIALLY Utah. You never thought that could happen in happy valley did you? The Wasatch FAULT is one of the longest and most active normal faults in the world! Seriously. But even if you don't live in UT, you NEED to be prepared for this.

BEFORE the quake...
Properly secure furniture, decor, and pictures/paintings to your walls
Make sure beds are away from windows
Put kid safety latches on ALL cabinets so you won't have stuff flying at you during the quake
Have a 72 hr kit ready

If an earthquake happens and you are...
In bed- cover your head with a pillow and wait it out til the shaking stops
In your car- pull over to the shoulder, stop, set your parking brake, turn on the radio to get emergency info, and STAY IN YOUR CAR
In the kitchen- turn off the stove (if on) get away from cupboards
In a room- get under a sturdy table/desk, wait out the shaking, OR/AND get away from windows and get in a sturdy door frame or get on the floor, crouch down, cover your head and brace against an inside wall
In a public place- DO NOT EXIT, remember- drop (to the ground), cover (your head), and hold on!

AFTER the earthquake stops...
Make sure you have a 72 hr kit prepared!!! It takes a while for everything to get back up and running properly! Don't count on others taking care of you! Prepare now so you can take care of yourself!
Make sure you know how to shut off gas, water, and electricity in your home if need be.
Make sure you have a location/plan to meet up with any family members that may not be home at the time the earthquake happens.

THESE ARE THE BASICS!! If you want to be MORE prepared, click on the following...




THIS link also has specific handbooks for those who live in earthquake ZONES- such as California, Utah, Nevada, and Alaska- they also have other good stuff :)
See where the latest earthquakes have been happening HERE. Seriously, SO interesting, did you know that on April 2nd there was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake with it's epicenter (DIRECT location) 5 miles south of Park City? Check out the map for where YOU LIVE!

And when you finish checking that out- test yourself with this earthquake quiz! It's fun, and educational :)



1 comment:

Amy and Kris said...

Wow that is such great info! I'm using this for our next FHE!!! Thanks so much for posting it!