Ok, I got the idea an entry in Mayzie's blog on Internet Safety :-p, yeah, I know, earthquakes don't have much in common with internet safety, but it could help save your life if an earthquake was to hit where you live.


So, I live in California, the San Francisco Metropolitan Area, to be a little more precise, and to get closer to the topic, almost right on top of the San Andreas Fault, so earthquakes have been a part of my life for all of my life, so when a 3.0 or a 4.0 hit, they aren't too much of a big story here, but most people where I live are prepared for the big one, when it hits.


If you know me from the boards, you'll know I'm into geology, mainly earthquakes and volcanoes. Well, I live in earthquake country, and I'd like everyone who also lives in earthquake country to read this, it contains some good into on what to do when the big one hits.


Ok, one, do you live in an earthquake zone? If you live on the west coast, 99% that you do, but just because you don't live in California, or the west coast for that matter, doesn't mean your at risk for an earthquake. In the wake of hurricane Katrina, the US government reassessed natural threats to the country, earthquake threats on the list rank as following:


A Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquake

This would occur on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which in many respects is much like the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a massive fault line that runs off the northwestern coast of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. A 9.0 or great earthquake could hit here, causing massive damage, and could be followed by a tsunami up to 80 feet that would devastate the entire western seaboard.


A Los Angeles Tsunami

This would be caused by a fault that is located off the coast of Southern California. The earthquake would no doubt bring destruction to the Los Angeles and So. Cal. area, the tsunami generated by this earthquake would hit so quickly, the residents of the coastal areas there would most likey have no time to escape the wave.


A Midwestern Earthquake

Even though few people know about it, there is a large fault located in the Mississippi-Missouri area of the Midwest, and that 200 years ago, it created a magnitude 8 earthquake. Well back then it was sparsely populated, now it is heavily populated, and an earthquake now could cause massive destruction in the area, and people from the Southeast to the Northeast could feel the shaking.


Gulf Coast Tsunami

That's right, another place that most people wouldn't guess as an earthquake threat zone, but a 2,000 miles fault that runs from Central America to the Lesser Antilles could cause a tsunami that would threaten 30 or more million people in the northern Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the US, with many other places that would also be threatened by this.


Ok, so how to be prepared for these disasters, you should do the following:

1, have an emergency kit in your home, car, and place of work, this could be essential to your life! In your emergency kit you should have, but not limited to: Water, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, a change of cloths, a long range two-way radio, a handheld radio to listen to emergency broadcasts, some cash, copy of your state ID, etc. If you can think of anything you would bring, add it to your emergency kit, and tell me in a comment so I can add it here.

2, know the ways out of your home, and be expected that some or all my be compromised in an earthquake, so you'll need to know what to do in that case. I suggest making a map of your home and place of work, nothing much, but just to know where the emergency kits are, and the exits. Go over it with your family or co-workers, have a designated place to meet once outside, this will let you know who's there, and who's not. Do not take your car to see if you can get out, road will most likely impassable, and you could risk your life if you venture out onto the road. So don't do it and wait for the emergency services to come to you. You may need to set up temporary shelter, I recommend have tents in your garage and one in your car, these can help you if the weather is bad when the earthquake hits.

3, knowing what to do the second the earthquake hits. Go for shelter under or next a table, it will provide you with the 'triangle of life', where if your home does collapse, the boards will make a triangle shape around each side of the table, being the table can hold it. DO NOT GO FOR A DOORWAY! This is a myth, from when an adobe home in the southwest was seen after an earthquake, and all that was standing was a doorframe. This myth is not good and the United States Geological Survey advises against standing in a doorway. Once the earthquake has hit, access yourself for injury, and if you can get out of the home.


I think this covers it all, I will update this as needed, and I thank you for reading this, and I hope if you live in an earthquake threat zone, if you don't already have these steps done, please, I recommend you do so, so when the earthquake hits, you'll be ready for it.


And keep an eye out for more blogs on disasters that I will be posting in the feature to help others be prepared for them as well.


Thank you,

Jon.

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I'd like to thank the United States Geological Survey for having information readily available so the public, so people can learn the risks and be prepared.