Wow. You are prepared. Um, if an earthquake happens i might need to check your supplies to make sure. So your address is...? Just kidding. I live in the midatlantic. Knock on wood, no real quakes in this area.
So CA...north of downtown Los Angeles. I've been through the two major quakes here - '72 (Sylmar) and '94 (Northridge), as well as the many non-major quakes (Whittier Narrows, 29 palms, et cetera), and probably thousands of unnamed 4, 5 and 5.5's. So I've been there, done that. Not fun at all, but totally survivable.
The difference between our quakes and the Atlantic coast quakes (and mid country quakes, too) is the type of soil we're on, and the way we build. Most places east of the west coast, if they get a solid 4 to 5, will have some damage; here, we just kinda wonder if that was a big truck. We don't even really report on the news (unless it's terribly slow) if anything smaller than a 4.5 or 5 hit...we literally don't even "notice" it. But the same size quake back east, and you've got some serious issues going on.
Glad you are prepared Herding Cats. When I lived in Southern California I slept threw the few small quakes we had. Hope you don't have any big ones.
Me too. I'm not fond of quakes...but for the most part, they're small and not even noticeable (to me).
Do you have a link or list of the items people ought to have on hand for posters who might be new to an area with earthquakes that you can post?
The way I set things up is I've tracked everything I like to eat that doesn't need refrigeration - crackers, PB and J, canned soups, tuna - and bought enough to have the shelves fairly well together with those things. Single serve mayo packs for tuna, e.g., and condiments like that tend to help the monotony of the food. I've also got water purification tablets, as well as some camping stuff, so I can boil water for drinking, if necessary.
Personal stuff would be baby wipes and large ziplock bags ('cause you don't want to use the toilet when the sewers and pipes are discombobulated) ...zip lock bags come in terribly handy with disposing of things and for use with the potty. I also have a lot of bleach (it's cheap) and vinegar for cleaning if needed.
And things that make life more bearable - batteries and a battery radio, for example - and candles (as long as the gas is shut off), flashlights, and things along those lines are stashed away, to be used if necessary. Quite a lot of firewood always on hand, as well as fatwood and starter items, matches, and charcoal for cooking in the fire if need be.
Also, and probably most important, items like a hand can opener...things that you'll need if you have no power to access food.
For first aid, I've got a good supply of gauze, bandaids, vet wrap, tons of alcohol wipes, betadine and hydrogen peroxide, triple A cream, burn cream, tweezers, aspirin and ibuprophen, and so on. And I've also got all my nursing texts to refer to should the need arise.
I also have a lot of duct tape and large sheets of plastic, so if/when the windows are broken, I can patch them up until I can get them fixed. This is a good thing, both to keep my critters inside with me, but also to keep any inclement weather out. No, plastic is not going to be a good insulator, but it's far better than nothing, and is something which a lot of folks don't consider when they're prepping for a disaster.
And, of course, I've got enough dry food on hand always for the dogs and cats, for three weeks of eating. For them, they can drink the same water I'll be drinking - boiled or purified. I also have enough carriers for all the cats in case we need to evacuate, and of course leashes for the dogs. (And yes, the horses have enough food, too...that's up at the barn, though).
Other things:I have a tarp in case I need to "camp out" if the walls come down or something, and I need to construct a leanto for myself out back. I keep at least half a tank of gas in at all times. And so on.
[/quote]I live in tornado alley and people who move here from areas not familiar with tornadoes sometimes totally freak out when our month test sirens sound and yet don't know where to go or what to do when we are in a tornado watch situation which can change rapidly to tornado warning. I really pushed the issue of severe storm action at my old job as many of us who have lived here automatically know what to do but not necessarily people new to the area. One great thing is our schools do a lot to teach the kids and more than one adult has listened to a child when faced with a tornado/severe storm warning!
Also our grocery stores put the info on their bags during the tornado season.[/QUOTE]
I was in Illinois during a tornado alert...nothing came close, but it was rather scary. The woman and children I was visiting were very nonchalant about things, but I was sooooo on edge I couldn't enjoy the thunderstorms...just paced the house, walking from window to window. they laughed at me. LOL.
But I remember a friend who was thinking about moving here, and knew we had quakes. I had her look at the USGS quake list after a few days, showing her how many we had had...and none that she felt. LOL. So it's just what you're used to, I suppose, and what you understand and have experienced. Me, I'm not good in tornados, but am just fine in EQs...after the shaking stops, of course. LOL.
Never have I been so thankful to live in wet and depressing Scotland, I am a panicer so cant imagine how id cope in an earthquake.
Stay safe!!
Thank you, Josie! I don't think anything will happen, but I haven't been comfortable with all the quakes that have happened recently, and us not having any significant quake to speak of (we've had some 4 and 5's, but nothing more than that).
Honestly, I'm more worried about the asteroid which is gonna come quite close to us on Feb. 15, than I am about quakes...that asteroid is supposed to pass us but come underneath the satillites we have orbiting - something like -0.009 AU, which is less than a tenth of the space between us and the moon. So that has my attention at the moment...
But it never hurts to be prepared for whatever...and since I live in the heart of EQ territory, that's what I'm ready for.
Best-
Herding Cats
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