You’re sitting down to dinner with your family when the
floor begins to shake. A dull roar fills
the room as glasses fall over, dishes crash to the floor, cracks appear in the
walls, and the ceiling light sways crazily and finally falls onto the
table. Your family is experiencing an
earthquake!
The children cry out in fear as you and your spouse
frantically try to remember the safety procedures for such a catastrophe. You can either hide under the table, or you
can coax everyone to stand in a doorway – the structurally strongest part of
most buildings – or, if there’s time, you can lead everyone outside and away
from the house, which is now swaying like a drunken man.
You opt for getting completely out of the house. On the street you cannot stay on your feet;
the ground acts more like a liquid than a solid. You lie down and watch in horror as trees
come crashing down, electric wires snap, and your beautiful home starts to
collapse. After the main shock there are
aftershocks; a water main breaks in the street, sending a geyser twenty feet
into the air. Several buildings in your neighborhood catch fire; the smoke is
thick and choking.
Can’t happen here, you say?
Haven’t had an earthquake in this part of the country in a hundred
years? Just remember, my friend, that
the Washington Monument was closed for nearly 2 years after an earthquake
shattered northern Virginia back in the summer of 2011! There had been nothing like it for over 100
years.
The U.S. Geological Survey has
come out with a map of the contiguous United States that clearly shows the
chances of an earthquake in every state. (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/products/conterminous/2014/2014_pga2pct50yrs.pdf)
Large sections of Utah, Arizona,
Missouri, Arkansas, and Maine are labeled as highly likely to have a major
tectonic episode in the next ten years.
And the whole West Coast is constantly at the mercy of temblors.
There is NOTHING we can do to
prevent an earthquake. But there is
PLENTY we can do to prepare for the aftermath.
- As suggested by Hikingware.com, a good water filtration system is a must. Your tap water will undoubtedly be unsafe for weeks, perhaps months, after the earthquake. Make sure you have one that is quality-inspected. Also keep on hand as many gallons of pure water as you can. Plastic containers are the best, since they are least likely to be damaged during a seismic event.
- Power will be out for an undetermined amount of time. Make sure you have a back up generator. And fuel for it!
- What are you going to eat? Do you think the Red Cross or your local Food Shelf is going to have meals hot and ready for you? Think again! You should have a stock of MREs on hand. (MRE stands for “Meals Ready to Eat). They are an invention of the military. They have a shelf life of 5 years, and come with a flameless heater.
- Make sure you have a standard first aid kit handy and ready to go out the door with you if you have to leave your home quickly. You can pick one up at any drug store, but be aware that often the items in them are on the brink of going out of date. It would be better to go online and get a fresh first aid kit.
Remember the Scout Motto: Be Prepared!
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email: sales@hikingware.com
Telephone: (703) 496-5500
