Earthquake!!!!

No, we didn't have an Earthquake!  However, this area is 'overdue' for a 'big' one...  As a mom, this is a scary prospect.  The strong need to protect my littles is on over drive!  No, I'm not a survivalist with a plan to take to the mountains or a bunker in fear of (insert disaster, war, civil unrest, your choice)  but I am a mama and a planner! 

Yesterday, I learned what to do in the event of an earthquake, how to prepare your home and family.  What to do is simple: Drop (to the ground), Cover (get under a sturdy table, ideally), and Hold (on for dear life and to the table).  Check.  Next , the house, this one will be a future project...hopefully soon, since it's a safety thing.  Here's what we are going to do: 

• Earthquake Retrofit our house, since it was built before 1985.  For us, this will involve: securing the house to the foundation with sill plate bolts and/or foundation plates, ensuring the first floor joists are braced and connected to the rest of the understructure, and hopefully not needed to reinforce our foundation.
• Water heater strapped to house- check.  Flexible pipes connecting gas and water to utilities- check.
• Secure furniture like shelves and dressers to walls.
• Secure wall hangings so they can't fall off
• Secure any other fall hazards around house
• Add door closures to cabinets
• Make sure nothing hazardous can spill if toppled in garage.
• Label utility shut-off’s

To prepare the family, we are going to assemble an Earthquake Emergency Kit.  For the most part, it's our camping gear, first aid kit and some other basics we'll add so that everything is accessible.  You can find a Red Cross list online for recommended Emergency Kit supplies.  I don't have a lot in the way of canned goods, because we try not to eat processed foods...so I may be overly cautious a buy some, use it for canned food drives every year, and repeat the cycle.  Rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it...right!?!  

 

Not related to an Earthquake, but while we are assembling such things, we'll put together a car emergency kit too!  I recall being on an 'adventure' aka lost with Brett and Evan when he was a baby, trying to get back to our hotel room driving around Lassen Volcanic National Park.  We weren't actually lost, but the 'road' turned out to be impassable and we nearly got stuck.  We were in the middle of no where in a Jeep wrangler (soft top) with my baby, no food, no blankets, getting dark...I'm thinking bears, mountain lions, cold, hungry baby... I was NOT happy.  I did remain calm, but after that....never again will we take a 'short cut' attempt like that again.  While we wouldn't have had a emergency car kit given we were in a rental...I did learn to always bring more than enough food if nothing else and to just say no to dotted dirt roads around National Parks close to dark. 

Also to prep the family, we are gently talking to the tots about it.  Evan is super sensitive, so we have to be tactful in our approach.  One thing I had to provide for his school was an emergency kit for him.  So he's good there, and fortunately, if he's at school, he's close enough, that I can walk to pick him up.  Brett on the other hand, I'm terrified about him being in a skyscraper downtown...it is a new building built with earthquakes in mind, but still... :-/  His office does have earthquake kits on each floor.  Good job! 

Other little things, but important, we have a meeting plan (house), alternative meeting plan (Lori's house), out of area contact to coordinate with (my mom), and downloaded a Red Cross App- evidently good for communication in the event of a disaster.  I also have a printed out list of emergency numbers, other contact numbers, locations of police, fire station, hospitals, pictures of the family, and a list of what to do afterwards (beyond change your pants). 

As Bob the Builder says, "Safety First!"

The resident mama (me) says, "Must protect my babies!!!"