If you live in California, have you prepared for an earthquake? If not, why not?

[Mike 03]

Poll question: If you live in California, have you prepared for an earthquake? If not, why not?

[Ohio Joe]

1. I've never lived in an earthquake zone...

How does one prepare for it?

[EFerrari]

2. States like CA usually have websites that provide instructions

from assessing how stable your building will be to first aid training to sheltering in place instructions to emergency kid recommendations.

At one time, I had both supplies for sheltering in place and also a backpack with supplies if I had to walk out with my animals.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. How?

There are a variety of ways. Lots of bottled water. Lots of canned food, enough to last 3 days or so. Knowing how to turn off the gas valve if there's a leak. A central place for the family to gather. Emergency money available.

And like that.

There's more, but I can't recall just now.

I think it would be much as you would prepare for a tornado, or a hurricane. Dunno, though. I've never lived in a place where those happened.

[EFerrari]

15. The state and your county has a website with recommendations

and resources. TG for the net!

[LeftyMom]

3. No, but I don't live on or anywhere near a fault line.

I've never even felt an earthquake, and I've lived in California my entire life.

[Garbo 2004]

9. If you live in Sacto area, you don't live far from fault lines. Dunnigan Hills Fault for

one example. http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/news/2003%20News%20Releases/Pages/NR2003-08_Sacramento_Earthquake_Potential.aspx

[LeftyMom]

12. Well, let me put it this way

I've lived here my entire life, and I've never so much as felt an earthquake. Not even a little one, not a distant one. Nothing.

It floods here though. Regularly. We plan for that one.

[Garbo 2004]

16. You may not have but others, including me, certainly have felt earthquakes here.

I'm a lifetime resident of Sacto too. I was at Sac State when the Oroville quake hit. I was in a stairwell in a building across from the Capitol during the Loma Prieta quake. I remember just as I was going to step down on a landing the floor moved. And kept on moving and shaking for some time as I held on to the railing and walked down. Channel 10 News clip from during the quake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOuS0fbqVs

There were others of course. First quake I remember feeling was in the 60's. Small one epicentered around Winters area IIRC. (That's the area that had an estimated 6.6 in the late 1800's.) In the 90's there was an early morning quake in the Tahoe area which woke me up...and I was in downtown Sacto. The bed was bucking like there was someone other the bed shaking it. (Thanks to an old house with a brick foundation, no doubt.)

While Sacto itself isn't seismically active, it might not be completely immune from impact of a major quake in Northern California. We'd no doubt notice and likely have some damage from a Loma Prieta magnitude earthquake if it was epicentered in the nothern Calaveras or Hayward faults. And there's at least one fault close by that's produced a significant quake in the late 1800's. Sure the more likely concern is flood. But among the concerns about the levee system is also how it would stand up in a significant earthquake.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. wow! In LA we feel itty bitty ones all the time, and then we have the bigger ones like

1994

[shanti]

28. didn't you

feel the loma prieta quake back in 1989? i was in sac, and it rocked like a mugg here...

if you were a child then, you may not have remembered it.

[LeftyMom]

31. I was in a car.

Didn't feel it over the normal bumping and rattling of our badly maintained roads.

First I heard of it was when we got home there was water in the gutter because the neighbor's pool water had sloshed around a bit.

[EFerrari]

4. I'm in a tsunami zone and was prepared but had to raid our supplies

during a period of unemployment. It's about the money.

[paulsby]

6. i don't live there, but i'm prepared

i have several months of dried/canned food, and water filtering equipment (for filtering streamwater etc.) as well as bottled water.

i think that's an issue of personal responsibility, even if you don't live in an earthquake zone

[TahitiNut]

7. When I lived in California, I was prepared.

All tall furniture (bookcases, etc.) was safety-chained to the wall, the hot water heater was strapped per code, kitchen cabinets had latches, and I kept drinking water and an emergency kit in the garage. "Preparation" met the needs of Loma Prieta ... but wouldn't do much good for the "Big One."

I'd gladly move back and deal with an earthquake every 10-20 years instead of winter and ice every year. Two hazards of living in California were fires and earthquakes ... nobody laughed off the fires.

[LWolf]

8. When I lived in CA, I was.

I lived there for 38 years; earthquakes and fires were expected.

[Jeep789]

10. I prepare every time there is an earthquake (afterward)

Unfortunately, the preparations have to be kept up and that I never do.

[Raine]

13. Same here

I guess I'll just move fast and get out of the way of falling junk. :yoiks: I've tried to prepare but I just can't fasten down every little thing down and how many jugs of water etc. can I find room for. I do have big heavy things like cabinets fastened to walls, water heater strapped and a shut off for gas but that's about it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. I'm out in the middle of nowhere and have extensive preparation

It won't last for ten years, but with the renewables, 18-24 months would be easily achievable

[robdogbucky]

17. Seriously

I was on the Bay Bridge on the 5 o'clock N bus on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 tuning in the World Series game. I have stories to tell.

Suffice to say the power of mother earth is awe-inspiring. We are prepared at our house now, but it wasn't that '89 quake which caused preparations. It was more 9/11 and the realization that things like martial law and societal breakdown would be just as likely as quake or fire or storm to cause one to have to survive on one's own for up to two weeks. That awarenesss ratcheted up the caution flags, so why be sorry if one can be safe with minimum effort. Every year there are examples of that out here, so thoughts of survival are rekindled frequently. 18 months ago a crew from my office was down in San Diego when they had to evacuate their office from the firestorms that raged with very little warning. Step-son was under evac order at his house near Mission Bay but refused to leave, and was almost arrested.

We learned after a couple years of maintaining the survival stash that freeze-dried and other foods had longer shelf lives that canned goods, etc. Have hand crank generator for cell phone, lights, radio, etc. Keep anything that might be stuck in a destroyed house that would be necessary to survive for that period out in the stash under lock and key, with plenty of keys stashed in various. Keep vehicles gassed up with water and first aid and communications and basic food and first aid as well in case stash is also destroyed or we have to leave in a hot second.

Cannot believe how many of the people we talk to about this have made NO preparations. If events of the last few years have not informed that we are essentially on our own, then I do not know what would?


robdogbucky

[Jeep789]

19. Canned goods have a pretty good shelf life

And the people involved in 911 were not suffering food shortages or government help. I think it helps to keep facts relevant. New Orleans is a much better (but hopefully, rare) example of why one might want to ensure long term preparations.

[robdogbucky]

22. Okay....

"Canned goods have a pretty good shelf life"

Not compared to freeze-dried or other dehydrated foods.

After having to change out said canned goods every couple of years from our emergency survival kit (the water has to be changed out frequently though, with no alternative, water purification systems notwithstanding) I researched extensively and opted for vacuum packed, freeze-dried, dehydrated and MREs, as well as some fresh stuff that still has to be rotated like energy bars, grains, etc.

Are fires, earthquakes, martial law okay with you? I did mention those situations also. What happens if a larger scale terrorist attack/false flag operation than 9/11(take your pick) like a suitcase nuke or poisoned water supplies, etc., effect a much larger area than Manhattan, (ooga booga) just as an example? Sheesh, some are so literal. How about economic collapse or breakdown with all grocery stores runnning out of food on the shelves in 3 days, all electricity/ATMs down. I'll just swap that one out with the objectionable 9/11 reference for ya, 'kay? BTW, all the emergency food websites today are already filled with info links to the swine flu outbreak. Even you forgot the obvious one in play now, pandemic. Hah! Never a dull moment.

"LONG SHELF LIFE FOOD SUPPLY. Typically this is food that is dehydrated or freeze dried (similar to the pouch products), packaged in double-enamelled #10 or #2-1/2 cans, nitrogen flushed, and has an expected shelf life of 10 to 15 years (or more).
Remember that dehydrated and freeze dried food will require clean water to be able to reconstitute. Also, when you obtain your supply of storage food, use it on a rotational basis. This will get your family accustomed to the taste and keep fresh product in the storage supply, as you replace that which is eaten.

A couple of final points: it is better to be two years too early in your emergency planning, than one minute too late. And consider that purchasing your emergency food supply is analogous to buying "food insurance."

http://www.baproducts.com/food.htm


"Canned Good Shelf Life
And Stamped Code Decoder"

http://www.y2kkitchen.com/html/can_code_decoder.html


After spending hundreds on canned goods that had to be rotated out and either consumed or donated to shelters & foodbanks before the expiration dates, (usually 18-24 months, much less time for many canned goods) I invested in these alternatives and will not have to change most of them out for many years.

Just my dos centavos

robdogbucky

[Jeep789]

23. Actually, you do have a valid point

One of the reasons I am not prepared is the rotation cycle. I purchase the stuff after a major calamity somewhere but forget to rotate them later. I think I will take you up on your suggestion and purchase some "LONG SHELF LIFE FOOD SUPPLY" items. Would the freeze dried food commonly sold at camping supply stores suffice?

Other than that, I am an avid camper and have a pretty good supply of survival items though I certainly hope (and still doubt) we'd have to use them for a long period of time.

I will admit that the last administration did have me a bit worried that we might need to use them as you have described but I am feeling much better now.

[robdogbucky]

24. Yes

and I did not mean to sound snarky in my response. The swine flu story has suddenly injected some emotion into the subject recently though.

The Mountain House line of packaged camping food is one of the main ones that I stocked. I used those 30 years ago when fihting fire for the US Forest Service. Also used there were military surplus C-Rats, as they were called then, from the Vietnam era. Now the MREs the military uses are also available to the general public. They are all available at places like on line, at REI (where I went for mine), Any Mountain/Erewhon (if those still exist?) and maybe catalogues like Cabela's (I know that is a likely source for survivalist-types).

NYT did a feature about 10 years ago providing lists of things most people don't think of for short/mid term survival on one's own and that was real helpful, as I did not think of things like emergency cash stashed, extra prescription meds, financial and family and medical info, etc. Clothes and blankets and general camping supplies (which I already had a healthy head start with) play a big part in our survival box.

Just my dos centavos

robdogbucky

[Jeep789]

26. Thanks, I'll purchase a supply

I actually do have some that I purchased for camping trips but never used. (They don't look very appetizing but I have heard good things about them from backpackers.)

My main concern is water. It is hard to store and you need it for everything.

[robdogbucky]

30. try

some water purification kits, if you do not or cannot store water.

They are usually dirt cheap and have a great shelf life.

Works for me when camping. Also using a stove to boil water is a good thing to keep in mind.

That is what I rely upon to make the experience more pleasant. The new dehydrated entrees are pretty varied and extensive and in most cases palatable. Gotta have some water to boil most of the entrees in, hence having at least a small grasshopper stove w/sterno will suffice. I do have a high-end Coleman w/propane stash for the long haul though. Hell, that even came in handy couple of summers ago when the stove top went on the blink in the kitchen. Couldn't get Sears to come out for at least 3 days.

robdogbucky

[Jeep789]

20. Self-delete - dupe nt

[SoCalDem]

21. My friend was ON this thing , driving when it collapsed in front of her

She was 16 yrs old...one week after getting her license.. Her Mom was a passenger..(letting her get some highway experience)..
They were the 3rd car back from the edge that broke away, and were fine...but scared shitless..

when I met her, it was 15 years past the event, and she would not drive...anywhere..

We got tickets to "The Price is Right" and she was a basket case every second we were on the freeways..

[Caliman73]

18. I live in California

Close to the epicenter of the Loma Prieta quake. I missed the quake in 1989 as I moved from LA in 1996, but my wife was here. Being in LA during the Northridge quake, the Whittier quake and others though, I understand the need to be prepared. Fortunately my wife and I have gotten down to business and purchased kits for the house and for the cars. We have our tools and supplies set up and our meeting plan, but need to continue the conversation to make sure we are prepared. Here is a site that sell supplies fairly inexpensively.

http://www.quakekare.com/index.html

[XemaSab]

25. I don't live near a fault line

but I have a plan.

What's the plan?

Get the hell out of the floodplain and drive like hell towards the dog park.

That's the plan.

[Creena]

27. I'm barely prepared.

I only have water and a secured water heater. I'm in the process of making an emergency pack for my dog and buying a fire extinguisher, but I'm nowhere near having all the essentials in one safe place. My mom is bedridden due to Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm always fearful of an emergency situation. We also live in a high fire area and that's another danger. Whenever I try to discuss a plan, my mom says in the event of an emergency, throw her the bottle of Ambien and get my dog and I to safety.

[shanti]

29. i've lived up and down the state

and have felt lots of them, but haven't been "prepared" for any. there's really not much you can do to be prepared...

[Hekate]

32. Doing the best I can, considering that I have not yet figured out water storage

Those gallon jugs from the store are not made of "archival" plastic; hence they degrade in storage and leak all over the canned goods. The bottled water-cooler people made it plain they don't sell single bottles -- they rent them and they want them back when you stop paying for the service.

I live on the Central Coast in California, which is unique in the way it so easily gets cut off from the outside world. In the 30 years I've lived here this has happened through derailed trains, major fires, a mudslide that took out a little seaside village along with the freeway and railroad tracks, and so on. It's a beautiful little coastal island in a geographical sense.

After the Drowning of New Orleans I realized that Bush had configured FEMA so that in case of disaster we wouldn't get a hand, just the middle finger. I hope to God it improves 100% under the new regime and stays that way, but given our potential for isolation I know we still have to have supplies on hand, and I have them.

All but the water.

Edited to add that I gave up on canned goods and bought two big plastic buckets of dried meals from Costco. They have a 20 year shelf life and are specifically for emergencies.

Hekate