Quake: Preparedness

I wanted to say, 'It was easy, it didn't even take 6 hours!' when I went around waving the banner of Earthquake Awareness Month. Now, having done it, I can say that only one of those is true. It was easy. But it did take time.

What did I do to get prepared? I started by reading information from the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM). I found out that I already knew the steps to take, they had seeped in from the zeitgeist:

• Discuss what to do in an emergency with my household
• Pick emergency meeting points: Primary and Secondary
• Build a kit with basics  (H2O, First Aid Kit, Duct Tape, Batteries etc.)

After grasping the concept I called a household meeting, which is always nice to have when you live with roommates. Because they happen so infrequently there are always some things to discuss, but I saved earthquake preparedness for the main course. We all agreed that the house would be the primary meeting point, and that if we were not able to meet at home for some reason, that the secondary meeting point would be at my roommate's business. We decided to split the cost of preparedness supplies. We patted ourselves on the back because our hot water heater was already strapped. We talked about the locations of fire extinguishers, the electrical circuit breaker box, the natural gas shutoff valve and the main water shut off valve. We agreed that shutting off water, gas and electricity would be one of the first things to do after a quake. 

Building the kit was easy, we already had two first aid kits. I checked over the contents and they were both good, so I split the better one off to be part of the kit. At the supermarket I got batteries, duct tape and big plastic trash bags. We already had tape, batteries and bags of course, but the idea behind the kit is to have a separate stash that we don't go to except in an emergency, and to keep it all in one place. No one wants to be hunting through piles of debris to find a roll of tape in an emergency; and of course you'll finally find it only to recall that you had used all but the last yard the week before while fixing a tent. I got a bin at Target, and some reflective markings at The Home Depot. I could have used a box, but I wanted the bin to be waterproof since there will likely be some broken pipes following the earthquake.

I figured that we would need about a gallon of water per day for the 7 day recommend period. 4ppl x 1 Gal/day x 7 days = 28 Gal. We have a dog too, so a few extra gallons for him brings us past 30 gallons. Of course there's always water in the toilet tanks, and the hot water heater, and some bottled and canned beverages lying around but you don't want to include these because they may not be accessible, they're there to push you past the meagerness of a gallon a day existence. I compared the prices of water jugs on Amazon and at the local Army/Navy store. Andy&Bax actually had one type of jug cheaper than Amazon, but the kind I got were definitely the right price. I bought 5 of the 6-gallon jugs to get us to 30 gallons of water. 

One component of the kit was something I hadn't thought about until I walked around Andy&Bax; where to poop? The things they were selling for rafting adventures seemed very expensive for what is in effect a glorified poop bucket. Fortunately a few days later I noticed three blue 5-gallon buckets with matching snap on lids outside the local deli. They smelled like pickles, even after I rinsed them out a bit. Buckets are great to have and after an earthquake we'll be happy to have a few that have the air-tight lids!

The most important piece of kit was the one you cant buy in a store  --  an Emergency Information Sheet. Mine has:

• 2 emergency contact phone numbers for each person
• Appropriate phone numbers for Fire Services, Police, Water Bureau, NW Natural, PGE, PBEM
• The location of the nearest fire stations and Communication Node (Phones wont be much good after The Big One) 
• The locations of meeting places, fire extinguishers and main valves as discussed above 
• Instructions for shutting the gas valve
• Instructions for getting drinking water from a hot water heater tank

The Sheet went on the fridge and inside the lid of the emergency bin. 

After assembling the kit I had to decide where to put everything. I had to think about what things will be like after a MegaQuake: floors could collapse, the house could flood or catch on fire, appliances could be toppled. (more on this in another post) I put the emergency bin in the entryway, that way it will be near the front door for easy accessibility, also passing by it every day reminds you that it's there. Also all my roommates know what it looks like 'cause they pass by it too. The water jugs went in the basement, very near the basement door for access, and next to the hefty tool bench so that if there is a collapse it will bear the brunt preventing the water containers from getting crushed. 

Wow, I know, it sounds like a lot. It probably took more than 12 hours. But each individual part was easy. Tracing the pipes to the main water valve was honestly the hardest part. There are still a few inessential things left, like getting more gauze/bandage and aluminized mylar for the emergency kit. Now that everything is set all I have to do is wait for my phone to beep in 6 months telling me to change the water in the jugs. Hopefully I never have to use any of this, but its reassuring to know its there.