Extreme Weather Preparation

Here's some extreme weather advice from USA.gov.

Summertime can bring a range of weather challenges and potential dangers. Some of these threats can occur with little warning, so do what you can to prepare by assembling an emergency kit and forming a plan of action. Find out what you should do if faced with the following weather dangers:

Lightning: In the U.S., lightning kills more people each year than tornadoes and hurricanes. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance and should seek shelter in an enclosed building or vehicle. While indoors, don't use a corded phone, a computer or other electrical appliances; and avoid contact with plumbing (don't shower, wash hands, do laundry, etc.). Learn more about lightning safety and get tips on what to do if you're outdoors during a thunderstorm.

Floods: If you have time, move essential items to an upper floor. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water. Do not walk through moving water that is six inches or higher. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move to higher ground. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a flood.

Hurricanes: If you can't evacuate, get inside and secure external and internal doors. Stay away from windows and doors and take refuge in a small interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a hurricane.

Tornadoes: Storm cellars and basements are the safest locations, but if they aren't available, go to an interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level. Stay away from windows, doors, outside walls, and corners. If you are in a trailer or mobile home, go to a sturdy, nearby building. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a tornado.

Extreme Heat: Stay indoors as much as possible. Consider spending the hottest part of the day in an air-conditioned public building, such as a library or shopping mall. Never leave children or pets alone in vehicles. Learn more about what to do in extreme heat.

Wildfires: If your home is threatened by a wildfire, you must evacuate. If you have time, bring an emergency kit that includes copies of important documents. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after a wildfire.

Earthquakes: If you are indoors, stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls and get under a sturdy table or desk. If you are outside, keep away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires. If you're in a moving vehicle, safely stop the vehicle in an open area and stay inside. Learn more about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.

Earthquake!

Special Edition Update:

At 1:51 pm yesterday my office building in Stamford, CT began to sway. It was an odd sensation, a bit like being on a boat with a gently rocking motion. It lasted for a good 15 seconds and my brain was wondering -this is very odd, what's going on? It probably took 10 seconds before I realized, oh, this is what an earthquake feels like. A co-worker from Japan immediately jumped under her desk but most of us did not. I thought about it but figured the motion was so gentle I doubted there was going to be any harm. I was right but it was a poor decision. I should have gone for cover and not worried about how silly that might look.

I immediately called my wife on her cell to tell her. She had felt nothing in a restaurant on ground level some 30 miles away. So I figured the earthquake was local. There was nothing on Google news for the first 5 minutes but then a news alert put the 5.8 earthquake 360 miles away in Mineral, Virginia. Wow.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.html

I tried to call my wife back with this news but the Cell phone system was overwhelmed and there was no dial tone at all. This cell "outage" lasted for about 15-30 minutes before she was able to call me. I did call home out of curiosity and was able to reach my answering machine. This is one reason we keep paying for the land line at home - it works when cell phones don't.

Since the event many have wondered, why did we feel the quake from so far away? The East Coast is 100 times less active than California, but an earthquake east of the Rockies is typically felt over an area ten times larger than a similar quake on the west coast. And since most East Coast buildings are not earthquake proof, the damages can be very wide spread. In California the ground is very fractured, when a quake wave hits a fracture it is deflected or absorbed. Think of a pond wave hitting a branch. On the East Coast we have very old bedrock that is quite solid and unfractured. It rings like a bell when hit with nothing to stop the quake waves. There are reports of the quake being felt in Canada!

Bottom Line

According to Matthew Herper at Forbes.com,

Just because quakes are less frequent in the east does not mean they are less dangerous, because building codes are less strict. Seismologists believe New York City is past due for a big quake — the last major one was a 5.2 quake centered in New York harbor off of Brooklyn in 1884. (See: Yes Virginia, There Are Earthquakes On The East Coast.)

A Radiant Story

“Incidentally, disturbance from cosmic background radiation is something we have all experienced. Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive, and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this ancient remnant of the Big Bang. The next time you complain that there is nothing on, remember that you can always watch the birth of the universe.”
-Bill Bryson

Flickr.com has a interesting story and graph about radiation. An  executive at a Silicon Valley tech firm (San Francisco) traveled to Japan for business.  One of his destinations was 50 miles from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that generated much frantic news after the big earthquake.

"As a precaution, a colleague gave him a Geiger Counter so he could make sure it wasn’t getting dangerous as he approached the plant."

Instead of only running the Geiger Counter near the site of the nuclear meltdown, the executive left it on the entire trip with fascinating results below. The tiny bump near hour 144 is the exposure from the damaged nuclear power plant. The much larger spikes occured while flying. San Francisco to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Singapore, Singapore to Tokyo, and Tokyo back to San Francisco. This is completely normal - a plane a mile or two up has less atmosphere to block in comming radiation from the sun and from space. The last trip has an extra tall spike because the flight went near the North Pole which blocks even less radiation than other parts of the globe.

Bottom Line

It helps to put things in perspective. Yes the radiation at the plant is bad and a meltdown did occur - BUT the effect is very local and dimishes rapidly. Persons living nearby (50 miles or so) need to be concerned about long-term accumulative risk. Visitors and tourists get greater exposure from the flight to Japan than from the damaged nuclear plant.

Why Food Storage is Important

‘You never want a serious crisis to go to waste’ -  Rahm Emanuel

The tragic events in Japan show why Food Storage is so important. Everyone needs to be able to care for their own family's needs for at least one week. And longer is better. See my post from last year for recommendations on a 3-month supply.

Despite being one of the best prepared nations on Earth, the AP reports That there are millions of persons in their fourth day without electricity or power. The government is overwhelmed and can not take care of everyone days after the event.

No nation can support millions of survivors overnight. In Westchester county with a population of nearly 1 million we would be lucky to find 3000 cots for the Red Cross to shelter families. It takes a lot of time to fly or ship supplies on this scale. And the conditions are less than favorable with local roads, bridges, airports & ports damaged or destroyed.

Japan is demonstrating every possible disaster scenario.

1. Those on the coast have suffered total devastation and loss. Their entire house may be gone, washed away. They must rely on the government, International Red Cross, or friends/family/church for food and shelter. Families who live on higher ground with more than a week supply will have something to share with those who have nothing.

2.  185,000 persons living near the Fukushima nuclear reactors have been ordered to evacuate. Did they have go-kits to grab? How much time did they have to pack? If a plant melts down, will they ever be allowed to return?

3. Persons within 12 miles of the nuclear plants (but outside the evac zone) have been ordered to stay inside their homes. This is where you absolutely need a week supply of food for the family. Do you really want to risk exposure to radiation because your cupboards are bare?

4. Families further away must repair earthquake damage and get by without water & power. Again a small food store will be a major blessing because local stores are quickly emptied and may be slow to restock after a disaster. See my post, Out of Stock.

Bottom Line

There are claims of 10,000 dead in Japan. This could have been tens times worse but for the earthquake drills and preparedness of the residents.

Our prayers go out to all the families affected.

Google Crisis Support

"I used to sleep nude - until the earthquake."
Alyssa Milano (American Actress)

Back in 2008 (Hide and Seek) I blogged about ways to find missing persons and/or let others know that you are alive after a disaster. For example there is a people finding service run by the Red Cross at https://disastersafe.redcross.org/

Today I learned that Google also supports a people finding service just for major disasters like
Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake  http://christchurch-2011.person-finder.appspot.com/, and
Japan's earthquake and tsunami http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

Google has also a great resource site for the Japanese quake at Google Crisis Response

(The resource page for Christchurch is http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/christchurch_earthquake.html)

The creator of the website wrote this,

As someone who experienced the Kobe earthquake 16 years ago when I was at university, I cannot forget the immediate desire for information. There was no way to find out where people's family and friends were, if transportation would be available to get us home, and most importantly, whether we would be able to find shelter.

This experience helped me remember that during a crisis, information about shelters can become increasingly muddled. Together with our Google Crisis Response team, we decided to organize existing public information from local governments about the concerned areas. Because of the very high volume of web traffic yesterday, this proved difficult to access. Collaborating with the Google Maps engineering team in Tokyo, we rapidly put together a page of information on Google Maps for our Crisis Response page.

And thanks to our colleagues in California and around the globe, within one hour of the earthquake we launched Google Person Finder, a tool to help locate missing people, in Japanese, Chinese and English. We published sites in Japanese and English with maps, news updates, videos, and resources. We also posted tsunami alerts on the Google homepage for appropriate domains to make sure as many people as possible saw the warning.

You can find a list of Crisises that Google has covered at http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/response.html 

and a list of web tools for presenting information at
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/resources.html

Bottom Line

Hats off to Google for using its technical resources to make information available to the public during disasters.

I recall after the East Coast Blackout in the 90's listening two days from my NYC office for word that the metro trains were running again. On day 2 my wife called and said a friend could see the commuter train letting off passengers so ignore the official radio announcements and just go to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and get on any train leaving the city. GCT was a spooky place with no lights, just the sun shining through the giant windows in the main hall. Men with megaphones announced trains departing and I got home.

Landslide

"It's not nice to fool Mother Nature"
- old TV ad for Chiffon Margarine

Back in May I wrote about sinkholes and landslides. But nothing drives home the point like a video. Check out this clip from Italy of an entire hillside flowing like water...

 http://sorisomail.com/email/42722/ja-viram-desmoronar-uma-montanha.html

Bottom Line

Never underestimate the power of Nature.

Three Strikes in Chile

"We are nine meals from anarchy."-docudrama After Armageddon

On Feb 27 a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit the country of Chile. This was 500 times stronger than the quake in Haiti and the sixth largest quake measured in modern times. At first glance it appeared that Chile was well prepared with about 700 dead and 2 million homeless (compared to 220,000 dead and 8 million homeless in Haiti). "The Government is up and running, the stock exchange is running, the newspapers are out." – ABC news. Fifty years ago the worst quake ever-recorded devastated Chile (magnitude 9.5 in 1960) and a new infrastructure was built to be earthquake resistant. (Haiti is also a high-risk zone for quakes but poverty and government corruption has not promoted safe building codes.)

But now for the rest of the story. The Chilean earthquake was followed by two additional catastrophic events:

1. Tidal Waves: many seaside towns in Chile were struck by surging waves several meters high that washed away homes and carried an untold number of people to their deaths. Most of the deaths in Chile occurred AFTER the quake with the tsunami. The entire Pacific was then put on alert for coastal evacuation. Fortunately the waves were only 3-4 feet high by the time they reached Hawaii and barely noticeable in Japan.

2. Looting: Chile Battles Lawlessness, Desperation After Massive Earthquake
“Many looters made off with food and basic supplies. Others saw an opportunity for large-scale theft, carrying away home appliances on their backs.” Everything has been stolen from the supermarkets, the small shops, and the pharmacies. Hundreds of looters have been detained and troops have been forced to fire tear gas to stop mobs from pillaging shops and homes.

The situation in parts of Chile is now considered "desparate".

Bottom Line

A disaster or catastrophe means, by definition, that the normal order of things has been overturned. Life will NOT soon return to normal. You cannot rely on local, state, national or international government to quickly come to the rescue. Hence the recommendation to have at LEAST one week of supplies in your home. As Chile shows you can survive the quake, survive the tsunami, and then starve because a mob has grabbed all the food while looting.

PS

The situation in Chile highlights a problem with food storage – a mob may steal it from you. It’s charitable to share your food store if you can, but you might want to lie low and not advertise that you have food storage if you fear mobs and lawlessness. You might also consider breaking up your food storage and hiding portions of it. This way some might remain after the rest is stolen. [Unless neighbors discover the “hidden treasure” of food and ransack your entire house in a treasure hunt.]

Another option is to create/join a neighborhood group to repel looters and “outsiders”. Some towns in Chile have gone this route.

Cells phones In Haiti

What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.—Evan Williams, CEO and founder of Twitter

Wired.com notes that two weeks after the Haiti earthquake, food and water were in short supply in Port au Prince, BUT it was possible to recharge your cellphone. Enterprising individuals hooked up car batteries to power strips and were selling phone recharges for 40 cents. This is a vital service since most electrical lines and phone lines are still out of order. A cell phone lets you call for help, find out the status of others and find out what's open or available after a disaster.

Amazingly the cell phone network was partially restored within two days of the earthquake. Voice does not always get through but text messaging usually works. Hence the large volume of Tweets coming out of Haiti. Texting uses less bandwidth than voice and often works even when voice lines are overloaded.

Bottom Line

It looks like I'll need to learn how to use Twitter.

Earthquake in Haiti

"Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself" - Luke 4:23 KJV

Last week a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. The resulting aftermath was a complete breakdown of civilization as we know it. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, understatedly said: "The authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function." [Actually they weren't functional much at all.] Days after the event, victims started stacking bodies along the roads as a sign of protest over no one coming to their rescue.

The earthquake in Haiti hit the government just as hard as the population. Bodies piled up and rotted at the morgue attached to Hospital General in Port-au-Prince because the Hospital Administrator had had no contact with any government officials to see what to do with them. He said, "I'm awaiting the decision of the government. What else can I do?" But as one Latin American expert noted, "The sad truth is that no one is in charge of Haiti today."

A shop owner figured out the problem, "There is no one in our country capable of sorting this out. Everyone is looking after their own families." Even President Rene Preval lost his home. He told CNN, "My palace collapsed. ... I can't live in the palace, I can't live in my own house." The 9,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti, instead of coming to the rescue, it looked after its own dead after its headquarters were destroyed in the quake.

Bottom Line

A 19-yr-old survivor said, "Look at us. Who is helping us? Right now, nobody." That's right! During an emergency you have to help yourself and your family. You can not count on government or outside rescue, especially not in the first 3-days, the famous 72 hours. Three days after the earthquake international organizations had yet to arrive in the country to help.

Update

Here's an article dated this morning, Jan 18, that describes how after 6 days, the first food and water is reaching a village of 10,000 people in Haiti.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.935566350b537e75897dfaac9f307642.5b1&show_article=1

Update 2

The U.N. World Food Program plans to start feeding 1 million people in two weeks and 2 million people in one month, the secretary-general said....With an estimated 3 million to 3.5 million people in need of aid, Ban was asked whether it would be enough to avoid riots.
"I sincerely hope and appeal to Haitian people to be more patient," he said. "We do not want to even imagine that kind of situation."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9DA0IHG0&show_article=1

Stay or Go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An’ if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know!
- lyrics by The Clash

Whenever I have the opportunity to watch BBC news, I’m always impressed by the extensive coverage of world news. American news networks rarely talk about world events unless there is a presidential visit or bad news in a US overseas war. That may explain how I failed to learn about the huge impact of an earthquake in China one year ago.

According to CNN.com, on May 12, 2008, at 2:28 p.m., Sichuan province was hit by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The quake could be felt over 1000 miles from the epicenter. It killed at least 68,712 people, with 17,921 missing, and more than 374,000 injured. More than 15 million people where displaced from their homes. CNN notes that, “One year after the quake struck, China is still counting the toll. “

One scandal following the quake is the Chinese government’s attempt to block any investigation of shoddy construction of school buildings. It took an entire year for the government to be shamed into releasing the student death toll. Only a few days ago did the government acknowledge that , “Thousands of schools collapsed in the earthquake, trapping students under the debris. Among the victims, 5,335 students died or are missing.” – CNN. Protesting parents and investigative reporters have been harassed and accused of prying into "state secrets."

Chinese officials claim that post-quake reconstruction is progressing well and point to 1 million new houses built in rural areas and 33,000 new apartments in cities with hundreds of thousands of more housing units are under construction. The government says it has helped nearly 1.3 million quake victims find new jobs. But if 15 million people were displaced and if each family has exactly one child (Chinese law), then only 1 in 5 of the affected families have new housing. Were 4 million families able to move and buy homes elsewhere? Or are they living in “prefabricated housing camps.”

Bottom Line

The effects of massive disasters like the Sichuan earthquake or Hurricane Katrina persist long after the media and rescue workers have gone. Homes, businesses, schools, and infrastructure must be rebuilt before lives can return to a level of normalcy. This can take years.

Don’t wait for government to “make things right.” Sometimes the best option is to move away and start a new life in a region not impacted by disaster. Of course millions of others may have the same idea but still the competition for jobs and homes should be less the further away you get from the disaster zone. House insurance may help you afford buying a new home elsewhere – BUT check your policy now. Are earthquakes covered? Most policies exclude flood and require an additional flood rider. Insurers are notorious for finding ways to avoid paying you, especially during large scale devastation when the cost to them is quite high.

Triangle of Life Video

Duck & Cover! - Nuclear War advice from the 40's and 50's

A new earthquake safety video is making the rounds of preparedness sites. It is called the Triangle of Life by Doug Copp of American Rescue Team International of San Francisco.
www.amerrescue.org/triangleoflife.htm

Doug Copp wants people to know that duck and cover is deadly for earthquakes. If you hide under something, you may be squeezed to death when something heavy falls on your cover object. His recommendation is to get down low NEXT to a strong object. When a ceiling falls the desk or cabinet or car that you are next to will pancake but it won't squeeze down to nothing. There will be a gap (a triangle) of space and THAT is where you want to be!
__
pX\ p=person, X=object

According to Copp, here are the 15 safest places to be during an earthquake based on survival statistics:
1) Outside in the middle of a field where nothing can fall on top of you.
2) Outside in the middle of the street where falling glass can't reach you.
3) On a seismic resistant platform such as a boat.
4) On the top floor of a wooden building.
5) On the top floor of a concrete building
6) in the space between 2 large objects (between twin beds, between 2 cars, between 2 rows of desks).
7) Next to an office bank vault or stack of paper.
8) Next to a squashed vehicle
9) At the foot of a bed
10) In front of a hotel lobby counter or bar counter.
11) In front of a sofa.
12) Next to Kitchen Cabinets
13) Next to a big bulky object like a piece of machinery, fridge, stove.
14) Next to a large carrying beam
15) In the subterranean exterior perimeter of a building.

Where are the 15 deadliest places to be in an earthquake? (The places where most dead victims are recovered from)
1) Under an object that gets squashed (like a desk, car, bed)
2) Inside of an object that gets squashed (like a car)
3) On top of an object that gets squashed (like a bed or sofa)
4) Inside of an elevator
5) On stairs.
6) More than 10 ft away from the outside of a building and on the ground floor
7) In a brick building less than 10 ft from the outside wall.
8) In a doorway of a collapsed building.
10) On the ground floor of any building or center of a basement
11) Under a carrying beam.
12) Under an object with a high center of gravity that fell over in the earthquake (like a fridge.)
13) The middle decks of highway overpasses.
14) Places that catch fire after collapsing.
15) Places with toxins, chemicals and gases that collapse.

Bottom Line
Surviving a quake is just the start. You also need to escape.
If you're inside a building and can move - WAIT. DO NOT GO TO THE STAIRS! Copp recommends waiting until all the panicked people have fled down the stairs. If the stairs haven't collapsed under the combined weight of panicked, fleeing people then you'll know that the stairs will be safe for you.
If you are trapped- RELAX! Yelling and heavy breathing will use up your air faster. (And your voice will go raw). Instead repeatedly TAP or BANG a wall so rescuers can find you. It does not have to be loud - professional rescuers will use sensitive listening devices (or dogs). But you do have to keep tapping for hours (perhaps even days). If you get bored try tapping out songs you love.

Living Off the Beaten Path

“I feel the earth move under my feet,I feel the sky tumbling down” – song lyrics by Carole King

Are humans rational? We’d like to think we are but consider this. When a DISASTER occurs, many people expect that someone will quickly rescue them. (After all – that is what police and firemen do.) But if humans really were rational, they might think about what the word DISASTER means and the consequences thereof. A Disaster is a situation that disrupts everything normal; lines of communication are lost, access routes are blocked, and just moving about can be dangerous.

I was reminded of the consequences of disasters in The Buzz: Quakes, squalls and the Snake which outlines what would happen during a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in the Jackson Hole ski resort area.

The problem with major disasters like an earthquake [or avalanche or snowstorm], is that it could take a few days for large-scale help to arrive because passes, bridges and communication could be shut down, and people might have to hack it for a few days on limited supplies – without any way of communicating with friends and family.

If the mountain roads are blocked then the only way in is by air via small planes and helicopters; neither of which can carry large loads and which may be grounded by foul weather conditions.

Bottom Line

Consider how far off the beaten path you live. If you live remotely, or in the mountains, across a bridge, or anywhere restricted by a single road to your neighborhood, THEN expect a long time between a disaster and rescue workers arriving. The old recommendation of 3-days of supplies is NOT for you. You should have at least a week of supplies, preferable more.

Earthquakes in Tennessee?

"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move"
- Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

When Americans think of the earth moving, i.e. earthquakes, most people will picture California and the San Andreas fault. But there is another large fault in America that is less well know but equally dangerous - the New Madrid fault.

FEMA has predicted a large New Madrid earthquake would cause "widespread
and catastrophic physical damage" across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee -- home to some 44 million
people. - Reuters

The San Andreas fault shakes frequently relieving much of the stress of two plates rubbing against each other in small earthquakes. But the New Madrid fault builds up pressure over a century or more and then snaps in a very large earthquake. When the New Madrid fault last snapped, 1811 and 1812, the course of the Mississippi River was changed and church bells rang on the East Coast.

Moreover most buildings in the New Madrid fault zone are not built to be earthquake proof. In California everyone knows about (and feels) earthquakes and so preventive measures are taken. But no one alive remembers the last New Madrid earthquake and it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind."

Bottom Line

It pays to learn the kinds of natural disasters that can occur locally to you. See my earlier post, Not in My Backyard!

Earthquake Drill for Nov 13 in California

“Love is like an earthquake-unpredictable, a little scary, but when the hard part is over you realize how lucky you truly are.”

If you live in southern California, participate in the ShakeOut Drill, at 10 a.m. on November 13, the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history! Register today!

An excellent article, Survival Skills: Earthquake, has been written by 10-year old Ryan Nabil. I wish the cub scouts in my Pack could write as well. Presented here are the highlights...

What Hurts During an Earthquake?

Before I conducted an extensive study on earthquake, I had the idea that it´s the shaking that hurts during an earthquake. But heck, I was wrong.

During an earthquake, it´s actually the things that fall on our body, especially [our] head, [that] hurt us. That accounts for such a great toll of death during an earthquake in contrast to any other natural disaster. Walls of a structure or other movable objects can fall on a person and cause casualties.

So, when an earthquake takes place: everything that you thought was your precious belongings turns into lethal enemies. They include: windows, doors, cupboard doors, heavy and tall furniture that might fall, shelves containing dishes, book shelves, china cabinets, TVs, CRT monitors, glass-made objects.

Bottom Line

When it strikes

If you are inside, on sensing [an] earthquake, you must move away from window and other objects that can fall as listed above and take shelter under a strong table. Cover your head with hand[s] to protect it from falling debris and also protect your eyes. You can use a pillow for this purpose.

Once the earthquake has started, [do] not to try to run out of the building because as that time falling debris or other objects might fall on your head and cause serious injury.

If you are in [the] kitchen, then you should know [the] kitchen is the most dangerous place during an earthquake. In such a situation, you must turn off the [gas stove] and move out of the kitchen as it might catch fire due to gas leakage.

Once the earthquake has stopped, don´t run out of the building as debris can still be falling. Besides, a major earthquake can be followed by a few aftershocks.

For an adult perspective on Earthquakes, check out Drop, Cover and Hold On! from the Public Information Officer for the city of Pasadena, CA.

Financial survival after a disaster

"Homeowners and business owners absolutely must plan ahead for the risk to their financial survival after the Big One hits. We have learned from numerous experiences throughout the country that in the event of major disasters, you are much more likely to lose all of your assets and/or go bankrupt because of the incident than be injured or perish during it." - How to survive 'the Big One' financially

In the blog quoted above, Joe Garcia, president of Garcia Insurance Inc., points out that only 12% of California homeowners have earthquake coverage for their home. He states,

"You may think you are covered under your general homeowners or business policy, but in California, earthquake coverage must be a separate policy with a separate premium." ...

"Don't expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] to write you a big check after “the Big One.”

Bottom Line
Just like earthquake coverage in CA, nationally few people have flood insurance and no one is covered unless they buy it separately. You may think you could NEVER be flooded but just how far away is the nearest river and how many feet are you above it? Is there a dam that could burst? Could heavy rains and leaf clogged sewers turn your neighborhood into a lake?

Talk to your neighbors and your insurance agent to find out if you are at risk for earthquakes, flooding, or other natural disasters not covered by your homeowner's policy.

Disaster Prevention Day in Japan

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" - folk saying

Japan is a country that treats disaster preparedness seriously. I recall reading about a minor earthquake in a foreign city. The staff in the writer's building casually went outside and blocked exit doors while smoking. At a Japanese owned company across the street, the staff wore hard hats, were organized into groups, and supervisors did roll calls to ensure everyone was evacuated.

According to the article, Disaster Prevention Day in Japan, there are roughly 1,500 earthquakes a year in Japan. Large quakes occur at 70-year intervals; the most recent, the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, claimed 6,000 victims. On average, three to five typhoons a year hit Japan, usually in September. Because of this, September 1 has become "Disaster Prevention Day".

Various drills for disaster preparedness are held all over the country by schools, companies and public organizations. Department stores also set up special sections with earthquake survival products. In bookstores you can find books with maps showing how to find your way home from your central Tokyo office to your house in the far-away suburbs. ... The fire brigade also pays visits to offices and schools, to train people in the use of fire extinguishers and have volunteers experience an earthquake in the Earthquake Simulator mounted on a truck ... at a magnitude 7 or 8, you will be knocked to the floor by the force of the swaying.

Bottom Line
If you haven't read it, please check out my blog on the value of participating in emergency drills. Drills save lives!

Earthquakes and LAFD

On July 29 L.A experienced a magnitude 5.4 earthquake. This is classified as "moderate" with slight damage to buildings by the USGS. Fortunately the L.A. Fire Department is a national leader in disaster response and preparedness.

• The LAFD has published an excellent Emergency Preparedness manual (PDF).
  
• In 1985 the LAFD began a program of Citizen Emergency Response Teams (CERT) to provide citizens with basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills to improve the ability to survive until responders or other assistance could arrive. In 1994 the CERT program was made national under the guidance of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) of FEMA. My wife and I are CERT members in NY and recommend it highly.
  
• The early '80s also saw the creation of the Incident Command Structure (ICS), born from the need to coordinate local, state and federal rescue agencies during California forest fires. Today ICS is the FEMA approved organization plan for all emergency response.

Bottom Line: Preparation prevents Panic. An informed and trained public can play a positive role in emergency response. I'll close with some L.A. earthquake humor. Erin at TopShelf has created an L.A. scale for measuring earthquakes. For example:

5.0 is a Hug-a-Tourist. That's when a perfect stranger in the mall grabs you and hangs on for dear life and you know they're from out of town.
5.5 is a Ceiling Check, all the natives and people who've been here for twenty years or more will look up at the nearest door, just to make sure they know where it is.

See the complete list at http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog-entry/8580/counting-seismologists-or-earthquake-terminology-101#new