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Earthquake

Are you all prepared for earthquakes? We had a "good" one a couple of days ago, a 3.6, that was epicentered just 6 miles from here. Now, that 's close! It got me thinking about my preparedness...

1. Know where the natural gas shut off valve is and how to work it.

2. Ditto water, and have enough water stored for drinking and washing for at least three days -- two weeks is better.

3. Have a battery powered radio available.

4. Check your food storage.

5. Be sure you have an alternative way to cook -- either a barbeque grill or propane camp stove -- and the supplies to make it work. Got matches?

6. Water filtration system, or at the very least a portable filter.

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

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

10. Duck and cover -- when an earthquake begins, get under a doorframe or under a solid piece of heavy furniture and stay away from windows and other glass items like large mirrors.

11. Expect aftershocks.

12. Keep your first aid kit well-stocked, and know how to use it.

For more information, try the FEMA website:

Earthquake

Thanks for posting that, it is great info and I do not know why I did not think to post it up before. In my opinion if an earthquake starts then this should be the first thing you do:

10. Duck and cover -- when an earthquake begins, get under a doorframe or under a solid piece of heavy furniture and stay away from windows and other glass items like large mirrors.

However, I wonder if you should do this for self first or try to find family members?

Earthquake History & Civil Business Politics

JB said:

Yes, of course! I put the other things in first because these are things that should be done BEFORE an earthquake hits. Be prepared, be stocked, be ready. THEN when it hits....

JB said:

Most quakes don't last more than a few seconds, maybe 3/4 of a minute tops -- it's best to get under cover as soon as you feel the movement. Although, to be honest, many times it's over before you even have a chance to think, let alone move!

Roz

Earthquake

I realize this is an official recommendation as well, but I wonder if it is wise. What I mean is, as you have already indicated, the quake is over in the matter of a few seconds, maybe 1.5 minutes at the absolute most and usually much less than that right? So, you won't turn the gas off as a prevention during the quake after it starts. Is is wise to turn the gas off after you already have a broken gas pipe or leak? I would think it wiser to get out of the house immediately rather than risk setting off an explosion while you go to the basement or wherever, to shut the leaking gas off. Something as minor as turning on the lights or a phone ringing can cause the necessary spark to ignite the leaking gas. If the house blows up and you are outside, you lose the house. If it happens while you are trying to get to the shut off valve or even while you are turning the valve, well......

Earthquake

That is a good point Tena and I often wonder about underground gas pipes that can crack without being apparent. Maybe it should read...

1. Know where the natural gas shut off valve is and how to turn it off after evacuating everyone from the house. I know the number for gas (or whatever it is called) services where I can find out if it was likely that the earthquake could of ruptured lines.

Earthquake

tena said:

Absolutely! You have to stop the flow of the gas if you can, especially if it's on the "house side" of the shut off valve. It dissipates rather quickly, and the danger of explosion will pass. If the gas is just left to build up, the risk is greater. Besides, most (if not all) California homes have the shut off valve outside by the meters; there's no real danger of the house collapsing on you. And frankly, if the quake was big enough for the house to collapse, you have bigger worries than whether or not there's a gas leak...

You wouldn't actually shut it off unless the quake was BIG, like over 4.5, while you check for leaks. The "sniff test" is best, along with visual inspection of the pipes, etc. We have so many little quakes on a daily basis, and these that are around 3 magnitude are no real danger, we get accustomed to them. It gets so you know by the feel whether you have to go looking for problems.

Roz

Earthquake

Well, I live in Massachusetts and my shut off valve is inside in the basement. We don't have a lot of earthquakes, but their is a major fault line near by. It is currently stable, but historically, there have been significant quakes, just not frequently. I believe gas is heavier than air, so going into a basement to shut the valve off seems dangerous.

FYI, in the past few years we have had two homes that I remember blow up due to gas leaks. In one, the house exploded at night, and killed two young girls sleeping. They were crushed to death. Their parents were also in the house, but they weren't killed.

Earthquake Politics Business Civil & History

After reading this through, I found EVERYTHING that I was taught to do if trapped inside a building during an earthquake is exactly what NOT to do! I couldn't find a link, so I'm posting the entire email I received here:

WHAT NOT TO DO IN AN EARTHQUAKE

The following is extracted from Doug Copp's article on the TRIANGLE OF LIFE,
edited by Larry Linn for MAA Safety Committee brief on 4/13/04.

My name is Doug Copp.
I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of The American Rescue Team International (ARTI),
the world's most experienced rescue team.
The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries,
founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.
I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation (UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years.
I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996, we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be correct.
The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul, Case Productions and ARTI
cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside.
Ten mannequins did "duck and cover"
and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle of life" survival method.
After the simulated earthquake collapse, we crawled through the rubble
and entered the building to film and document the results.

The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques
under directly observable, scientific conditions relevant to building collapse
showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using the "triangle of life" method.
This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe,
and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school
in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake.
Every child was under their desk.
Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones.
They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles.
At the time, I didn't know that children were told to hide under something.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects,
leaving a space or void next to them.
This space is what I call the "triangle of life."
The larger or stronger the object, the less it will compact.
The less the object compacts, the larger the void, AND greater the probability
that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured.
The next time you watch collapsed buildings on television,
count the "triangles" you see formed.
They are everywhere.
It is the most common shape you will see in a collapsed building.

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:

1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers"
WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE
is crushed to death.
Every time.
Without exception.
People who get under objects,
like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake.
It is a natural safety/survival instinct.
You can survive in a smaller void.
Get next to an object,
next to a sofa,
next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly
but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake.
The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse,
large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight.
Brick buildings will break into individual bricks.
Bricks will cause many injuries
but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night
and an earthquake occurs,
simply roll off the bed.
A safe void will exist around the bed.

5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching television
and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window,
then lie down and curl up
in the fetal position
next to a sofa or large chair.

6) Everybody who gets under a doorway
when buildings collapse is killed.
How?
If you stand under a doorway
and the door jamb falls forward or backward,
you will be crushed by the ceiling above.
If the door jamb falls sideways,
you will be cut in half by the doorway.
In either case, you will be killed.

7) Never go to the stairs.
The stairs have a different "moment of frequency"
(they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other
until structural failure of the stairs takes place.
The people who get on stairs before they fail
are chopped up by the stair treads.
They are horribly mutilated.
Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs.
The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged.
Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake,
they may collapse later when overloaded
by screaming, fleeing people.
They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible.
It is much better to be near the outside of the building
rather than the interior.
The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building
the greater the probability
that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed
when the road above falls in an earthquake
and crushes their vehicles --
which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.
The victims of the San Francisco earthquake
all stayed inside of their vehicles.
They were all killed.
They could have easily survived by getting out
and sitting or lying next to their vehicles.
All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them,
except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper,
that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.