Earthquake Preparedness

Well the Fireside on March 19th was well attended. It was nice to hear Earthquake facts rather than hype or rumors. I hope you'll take some time to look through the publication at BeReady Utah.com that was recommened by our Speaker Dr Gerber: Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country

If you missed the Fireside, here are just a few things to remember:
Duck Cover and Hold
- DUCK or DROP down on the floor.
- Take COVER under a sturdy desk, table, or other furniture. If that is not possible, seek cover against an interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms. Avoid danger spots near windows, hanging objects, mirrors or tall furniture.
- If you take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture, HOLD on to it and be prepared to move it. Hold the position until the ground stops shaking and it is safe to move.

Practice turning off your electricity and water. Know how to turn off the gas, but do not practice this step. In the event of an earthquake, once you turn off your gas, only your utility company should turn it back on for safety reasons.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW:
HIGH-RISE BUILDING, move against an interior wall if you are not near a desk or table. Protect your head and neck with your arms. Do not use the elevators.

OUTDOORS, move to a clear area away from trees, signs, buildings, or downed electrical wires and poles.

on a SIDEWALK NEAR BUILDINGS, duck into a doorway to protect yourself from falling bricks, glass, plaster and other debris.

DRIVING, pull over to the side of the road and stop. Avoid overpasses and power lines. Stay inside your vehicle until the shaking stops.

CROWDED STORE OR OTHER PUBLIC PLACE, move away from display shelves containing objects that could fall. Do not rush for the exit.

in a STADIUM OR THEATER, stay in your seat, get below the level of the back of the seat and cover your head and neck with your arms.

Earthquakes continued....

Does the age and structure of the buildings make a difference in how well you withstand an earthquake? I'm sure it does! HOWEVER, do you really want to count on that being your safeguard? I don't!!! Even if my house is standing OK can I really watch my friends and neighbors suffer because their house didn't survive the disaster?

Here's something to think about: In a conversation with a friend who lived through one of CA's bigger earthquakes we asked her where her family stayed for those next few weeks after the earthquake demolished their house. Her reply was - oh with a neighbor! When we questioned that confusing comment she explained "Not all the houses on the street went down. It was a hit and miss with some left standing just fine!" ???
OK - so that's a new picture for me to think about. I think we need to take this seriously - not fearfully - just prepared as though it IS going to happen. In our CERT class we were taught that if we prepare for an earthquake we'll be pretty much prepared for everything else. So let's do it!

So what do we need to do to be prepared? Well start by getting CERT trained. classes are taught thriugh the fire stations all over the couentry and in our Utah County area we can enroll in Accelerated classes through AVERT. see the rit side bar for the schedule.

More about the New Zealand Earthquake

Earthquakes #2

I thought this was VERY interesting. These gals at http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ held a 7 Day Challenge last Sept and one day was about earthquake preparedness. This is what they had to say on their website:

One of the days we practiced living through an earthquake. What were some of the things our readers said they wish they had after "practicing" this scenario? Here are just a few:

- I need to get my cars prepped for emergencies, I have nothing but booster cables in them

- Get a family size tent to use until home is declared safe

- Have shovel and bar of some sort for clearing the road

- Have more crafts and activities ready

- I need a good supply of fuel and extra water to cook with

- We need a few more flashlights, car emergency kits, some non gas lanterns would also be nice I used the last of the charcoal and so I will have to find something else to cook with tomorrow I'm going to try out our portable camp stove that we have, but never used, to make sure it works and find yummy recipes my kids like

- Will try to work on getting a generator

- Having an extra propane tank just in case, and the shovel

- Shovel for the car and some MRE's More tin foil, tarps, staple gun, duct tape, more germex, chain saw I need to do some serious work to prepare for an earthquake

- Finding some games to play (simple ones) but we did have fun talking about old times

- Probably store some wood for camp fire style cooking

- Have 4 pages of a "to do list" and to buy list

- Buy more paper products, washing dishes by hand and heating the water is SO MUCH WORK

- If there is a real earthquake I will need to secure the tall shelves in my garage to the wall so they won't fall over

- Must have 3 month food supply in place sooner I'd like my water easier to get to, it is in 30 gallon barrels, and the pump is not very reliable - I need my strong husband and sons for it

The 9 Essentials to Sheltering in Place

The following article is taken from The Ready Store It caught my attention because we live in a "Shelter In Place" Area. This means that during a disaster, such as an earthquake, there will probably be no exit from our general neighborhood. Freeways shut down immediately because of fallen bridges, We are surrounded by earthquake faults, our only way out would be through side streets which will be congested with paniced people and possible broken up and unpassable. So we need to be prepared to "Shelter in Place" (take care of ourselves until life gets back to normal which could take weeks!) At the bottom of the article I've also included some valid comments that readers left.

The 9 Essentials to Sheltering in Place

When it comes to emergencies there’s items that are necessities and there’s items that are luxuries. Generally speaking you want to tackle the necessities first and then add additional items to increase the comfort level of the situation.

Here are 9 essentials you should have during a sheltering in place scenario, (keep in mind that you may be required to shelter in place somewhere besides your own home):

1. Water - Plan on 1 Gallon per person, per day for drinking and sanitation. Our water storage category includes items like Datrex Water Pouches and 5-Gallon Water Containers that can help you with your water needs.

2. Food - A supply of 3-5 days per person. For a lot of people the first couple of days can be supplemented by what’s already in the house. However, to insure that you always have your emergency food supply ready to go I recommend one of our 3-21 Day Food Supplies.

3. Clothes - In your 72-Hour Kit you want to be sure you have an extra pair of clothes and shoes for each person in your group/family.

4. Medications - It’s a good practice to collect 3-5 days worth of any prescription medications that you’re taking.Also be sure to note expiration dates so that you can rotate them appropriately.

5. Flashlight - When it comes to flashlights, don’t go cheap. There are good flashlights out their that are very affordable. Here’s some great options: Ultra-Bright 3-LED Dynamo Flashlight, 12-LED StreamLine Flashlight, or theULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio.

6. Can Opener - This is another item that you want to be sure is high quality. There’s nothing worse than a can opener that won’t open cans.

7. Radio - The ideal option for a radio is one that has multiple options for powering the radio including, batteries, hand-crank, AC/DC, and/or

solar. The ULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio is a great option for this.

8. Hygiene Kit - Start with just the basics, soap, toilet paper and a toothbrush is enough to get most people by for 3-5 days.

9. First Aid Kit - Again, from a starting point perspective make sure that your first-aid kit at lest includes, antiseptic, gloves, bandages and your non-prescription medicine such as aspirin or Tylenol.

Put these 9 essential items in place and you’ve got a good foundation for a sheltering in place emergency kit!

Comments:

Also need some kind of self defense.

Tents, sleeping bags, blankets … some sort of warmth and protection from the elements might be a good idea. How ’bout matches or lighters ?

Containers for boiling water, I pack emergency supplies in coffee cans.

Also, extra supplies for trade - money will have little value. Useful goods (food, toilet paper and other basic necessities) will have higher value than coins.

to this list, I add plastic sheeting and duct tape. Your emergency could be spilled chemicals or something where you need to cover the windows.

Can It Happen Here?

Here's some after thoughts to Friday's story about the San Bruno CA explosion. Definitely worth being informed about: 
Aging Gas Pipes at Risk of Explosion Nationwide

Neighborhood Crime Report

Now is a good time to take a look at the crime report for the neighborhood. I think they may have added a new feature that I don't remember seeing before - but it shows where the Registered Sex Offenders live in our neighborhood. We have 5 of them close by. In the past 2 weeks we've also had 2 thefts and 2 break ins. The break ins were in storage sheds so you may want to keep yours locked. Crime Reports

LOCK YOUR DOORS!

I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I've been feeling a little discouraged that not many people are checking the site. But I thought I ought to pass along a little neighborhood info that I found out this morning. 

We are in the process of having our security alarm system upgraded. While talking with the technician today I found out that they have had quite a few alarms being installed throughout our neighborhood since the neighborhood break in a week ago today. (Click here for details: KUTV 2   or KSL.com )

He told me there was a second burglary that happened close by just east of 300 W. This one was on Friday (July 17th) at night when no one was home. The first break-in was about prescription drugs but the guy was scared off before he got anything. The second was about jewelry and coins that were stolen. He told me that the "victim" has the right to request the amount of media attention their incident will get - that's why we may not have heard about this second situation.  I don't care much about my "stuff" but I hate to think that any of my loved ones might be harmed just because we weren't paying attention enough to take a few safety precautions.  Lots of people are stressed right now with the economy being a little tough and that stress brings a degree of vulnerability with it. Vulnerability  leads people to do things they wouldn't otherwise do. 

PLEASE LOCK YOUR DOORS BOTH DAY AND NIGHT! It might not stop a break in but it will definitely slow things down and give you a chance to get help.  If you can afford to get an alarm system - now's a good time. We're talking under $50 /month depending on what you order.  You're welcome to give me a call (Rawlins on the neighborhood map) and I'll tell you about the company that we've chosen. We're pretty pleased because it's a local company so I think they may be a little more attentive.  

Also, if  you would like to track what the crime situation has been looking like in our neighborhood, you can go to CrimeReports.com.  You can even sign up for alerts to come to our email whenever crime happens close by.