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Introduction to Creating an Emergency Earthquake Plan

If you live in an earthquake zone and have the desire to prepare for a potential high magnitude earthquake, here are several suggestions to get you started. The suggestions below are divided into two categories: (1) what you should know and (2) what you should do.

Know:
The earthquake risk for your city or town. Understand where the greatest risk zones are (e.g., where does the fault line run) to better understand the risks.
How to shut off utilities. To prevent possible fires, you should turn off your utilities as soon as possible after, or even during, an earthquake. Fires are a common result of earthquakes since enclosed gases or chemicals can be released and only a spark is required to ignite a big fire. If you know how to shut off your utilities, you can easily prevent this risk.
A family meeting place. This step in home emergency preparedness should be decided, taught, and practiced. A meeting place can be anywhere outside that each member of your family could walk to on their own. If your family is separated during an earthquake, a pre-determined meeting place can help bring everyone back together.
How to perform first aid and CPR. Knowing first aid is important in an earthquake, so go ahead and take that Red Cross class you've been putting off. Even if you are fortunate enough to never be in a high-magnitude earthquake, you will feel more prepared and your skills could come in handy in other situations.
Do:
Secure your important information in an accessible format. If disaster strikes, you do not want to lose your essential information. With an online document management system, securing your information is simple and worry-free. Consider signing up for an account with the website Orggit. This company provides secure and accessible storage for your personal documents, from your passport to your vaccination records.
Make "safe spots" in each room. Since an earthquake could happen at any time, you need to have multiple safe places to protect yourself. Consider each room in your house and designate a "safe spot" where you could find shelter if an earthquake occurred. To safeguard an area, strongly secure or remove appliances, paintings, and furniture to create a zone where there is nothing to fall on you in the event of a earthquake.
Practice "drop, cover, and hold-on." Especially with kids, it is important to review these earthquake safety steps. Just as children learn "stop, drop and roll" in a fire, they should also know how to react to an earthquake. Review how to crouch down, protect your head and eyes, and steady yourself by holding on to a strong piece of furniture. Practice this drill with your kids in different rooms.

Keep emergency kits. In the event that an earthquake brings disaster to your town, you should be prepared to stay inside your house until help can arrive. These preparedness kits should include food, water, a first aid kit, and other supplies to help you survive without electricity.

Jonathan Pirc is currently working on a new product, called Orggit. Orggit is an online solution that allows you to safely store and have access to all of your life's most important information anytime, anywhere.

http://orggit.com

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