Southern California residents got a wake-up call about earthquake safety following a swarm of hundreds of earthquakes near the Salton Sea last month. Thursday, October 15, is the Great California Shake-Out, and managing editor Tami Roleff says Morongo Basin residents are encouraged to practice their emergency response in the event of a devastating earthquake…
Everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves during an earthquake– at work, at school, at home, or even while traveling. Do you know what to do when the shaking starts? Have you made a kit? How will you communicate with your family after an earthquake? Learn what to do by participating in ShakeOut, the world’s largest earthquake drill! Go to ShakeOut.org to register, learn how to plan your drill, and much more. Then, on October 15 at 10:15 a.m., join millions of people worldwide who will practice how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
Earthquake shaking can move almost anything, even large or heavy items. Imagine your home or workplace being picked up and shaken sideways – what would be thrown around and cause injury or damage? How can you prevent it?
Start now by moving furniture such as bookcases away from beds, sofas, or other places where people sit, sleep, or spend a lot of time. Move heavy objects to lower shelves.
Then continue by securing things such as televisions, computers, bookcases, furniture, unstrapped water heaters, etc.
Your past experience in earthquakes may give you a false sense of safety; perhaps you did nothing, ran outside, or stood in a doorway, and you survived with no injuries. Or perhaps you got under your desk, and others thought you overreacted.
Yet you may never have experienced the kind of strong shaking that is possible in much larger earthquakes: sudden and intense back and forth motions of several feet per second will cause the floor or the ground to jerk sideways out from under you, and every unsecured object around you could topple, fall, or become airborne, potentially causing serious injury.
This is why you must learn the expert guidance for how to immediately protect yourself after the first jolt… or get an alert that shaking is on its way! (Alert systems around the world can now detect earthquakes and sena alerts that may provide enough time to act before strong shaking arrives, including Earthquake Warning California, powered by the ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System being implemented for the West Coast!
Taking the proper actions, such as “Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” can save lives and reduce the risk of injury. Everyone, everywhere, should learn and practice what to do during an earthquake, whether at home, work, school, or traveling.
In MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury if you:
DROP where you are onto your hands and knees.
This position protects you from being knocked down and also allows you to stay low and crawl to shelter if nearby.
COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand
If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter
If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows)
Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs
HOLD ON until shaking stops
Under shelter: hold on to your shelter with one hand; be ready to move with it if it shifts
No shelter: hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.
