Earthquake!

Tuesday evenings quake has people thinking about earthquake safety again.  It’s not exactly a subject most of us want to keep top of mind, because frankly, earthquakes can be scary affairs.  It’s never the
original quake that gets you, either, it’s those after shocks that seem to go on forever and ever.  San Mateo County sits on top of the San Andreas Fault. We’re across the bay from the Hayward Fault and the Calavaras Fault, the one that errupted Tuesday evening, so we can’t escape earthquakes.

I am often asked  by clients new to California if they should I buy Earthquake insurance?  It’s a good question especially right now, and top of mind for all of us living in San Mateo County or for that matter, anywhere in
California.  Alex and I don’t carry it because it is so costly and covers so little.  The California Earthquake Authority is a one-stop web site with a lot of good information about earthquake insurance. Your own insurance agent is also a good resource for information, too.

If you do some pretty simple things to secure your home, you will likely be fine during an earthquake and
have little or no damage to your home.  Buy Earthquake Putty and use it on everything you have displayed in your house.  It’s like Silly Putty, but keeps breakables in place even during heavy shaking.  Buy Earthquake Straps and attach them to the top of high furniture and then secure the furniture to a wall stud behind it.  Baby Safety Locks for kitchen drawers and cabinets, while annoying on a regular basis,
will keep all of your food, dishes and kitchen paraphernalia inside the cabinets and not on the floor.  Not one of these is expensive and if you use them you will save yourself from thousands upon thousands of dollars of damage in a major quake. All bets are off if the epicenter is very close to you, but most of us
are not right on top of it, so my advise is for the majority out there.

I’ve written about earthquake safety before, here, and here, and I think it’s important to keep writing about it because we are all likely to keep our heads in the sand about it until it happens.  Buy a large plastic container and put things in it that you might need for the first 24-48 hours.

1. Toilet Paper & Tissues
2. Bottled Water (remember you have a hot water tank filled with water, too)
3. First aid kit
4. Tools (wrench, hammer, etc.)
5. Food – canned goods and shelf stable items
6. Can opener (non-electric)
7. Pet food
8. Small bottle of bleach for disinfecting
9. Flashlights and fresh batteries.
10. Radio and fresh batteries

If you have somewhere to put them, blankets and/or sleeping bags are a must if you can not sleep in your
house.  Most of us keep things like these in the garage, but you might not be able to get into your garage, so if you can, store them somewhere easily accessible.  Just in case a major quake hits during the night, make sure you have slippers or better yet, shoes to put your feet into to protect them from broken glass.  If it hits during the day, duck and cover.  Get under a table or desk, away from windows or heavy objects that might not be secured to a wall.  Or stand in a doorway until the first wave finishes.  Do not leave the building you are in until the quake has ended, and then get away from the structure if there is a chance an after shock could cause additional damage.

Finally, have a plan on where to meet and how to communicate.  The first hour after the quake on
Tuesday night it was almost impossible to get a cellphone signal.  Had this been a major quake, cell towers might have been completely out of service.  Besides, emergency personnel need to use cell signals.  It is easier for someone outside of California to call you than to have you call them so set up someone as the contact person and let them try to reach everyone over a several hour period.

Living in earthquake country is a fact of life.  We know there will be another big one,  we just don’t know when or where.  Only you can be prepared, no one else can do it for you.  What are you waiting for?