BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE HITS:

Plan Ahead Before An Earthquake Hits:

• Create a family disaster plan; practice and maintain the plan.
• Make and complete a checklist
• Plan home escape routes
• Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills at least twice a year and include your pets in your evacuation and sheltering drills.
• Test your smoke alarms once monthly (daylight savings time or birthdays) and replace batteries at least once a year in battery powered smoke alarms.
• Make sure each family member knows what to do no matter where they are when earthquakes happen.

1. Establish two meeting places where you can all reunite after the quake – one right outside your home, in case of a sudden emergency and one outside your  neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to leave the neighborhood.

2. Find out about the earthquake plan developed by your children’s school or day care.

3. Remember that since transportation may be disrupted, you may have to stay at work for one or two days following a major earthquake. Keep some emergency supplies at work – food, liquids and comfortable shoes for example.

4. Pick two out of town contacts: A friend or relative as your family’s PRIMARY contact and a second alternative contact.

• Know where your gas, electric and water main shutoffs are and how to turn them off if there is  leak or electrical short. If you are not sure, ask your utility companies. Make sure that all the older family members can shut them off.
• Locate your nearest fire and police stations and emergency medial facility. Remember that telephones may not work after an earthquake. If you can, use your land line rather than your cell phone to call 911 but only if you need emergency help.
• Talk to your neighbors — how you can help each other after an earthquake?
• Take a Red Cross first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) TRAINING course.
• Make arrangements with friends or family to temporarily house your pets after disasters because emergency shelters will not accept pets.
• If your home is near a steep hillside, in an area near the shore of a body of water or below a dam, check with our local building or planning department to see if you are in a landslide, tsunami or dam inundation zone. Plan for how, when and where your family should evacuate.

WHAT DO DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE

IF YOU ARE INDOORS — STAY THERE!  “DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON”.

Get under sturdy desk or table and hang on to it, or move into a hallway or get against an inside wall. Stay clear of windows, fireplaces and heavy furniture or appliances. Get out of the kitchen which is a dangerous place in earthquakes since it is full of things that can fall on you.  DO NOT run downstairs or rush outside while the building is shaking or while there is danger of falling and hurting yourself or being hit by falling glass or debris.

• IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE –GET INTO THE OPEN, away from buildings, power lines, chimneys and anything else that might fall on you.
• IF YOU ARE DRIVING –STOP, but carefully. Move your car as far out of traffic as possible. Do not stop on or under a bridge or over pass OR under trees, light posts, power lines or signs. Stay inside your car until the shaking stops. When you resume driving, watch for breaks in the pavement, fallen rocks and bumps in the road.
• IF YOU ARE ON OR NEAR A STEEP HILLSIDE –WATCH OUT FOR LANDSLIDES, falling rock, trees and other debris that could be loosened by earthquakes.

If you FEEL A STRONG EARTHQUAKE OR RECEIVE A TSUNAMI WARNING WHEN YOU ARE ON THE COAST:

• DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON. Watch for falling objects until the earthquake is over.
• MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND or inland away from the coast immediately. A  Tsunami may be coming. Go on foot if possible. The first waves may reach the coast within minutes after the ground shaking stops. The first wave is almost never the largest. Later waves may be spaced tens of minutes apart and can continue to arrive for many hours.
• THERE MAY BE NO TIME FOR AUTHORITIES TO ISSUE A WARNING! If you do not hear an evacuation announcement but notice a sudden drop or rise in water level or hear a loud noise coming from the water,  there may be impending danger.
• Stay Away From The Coast: Do not return to the shore after the first wave. Waves may continue to arrive for hours.
• Listen to a Radio For an ‘ALL CLEAR’ before returning to the shore.

AFTER the EARTHQUAKE IS OVER

EXPECT AFTERSHOCKS

CHECK FOR INJURIES

• If a person is bleeding, put direct pressure on the wound. Use clean gauze or cloth if available.

If a person is not breathing, administer rescue breathing. The front pages of many telephone books contain instructions on how to do it along with detailed instructions on other firs aid measures.

• Do not attempt to move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
• Cover injured persons with blankets to keep them warm.
• Seek medical help for serious injuries.

CHECK FOR HAZARDS

• Fire or fire hazards. Put out fires in your home or neighborhood immediately. Call for help but do not wait for the fire department.
• Gas Leaks: Shut off the min gas valve only f you suspect a leak because of broken pipes or the odor of natural gas. Do not turn it back on yourself — wait for the gas company to check for leaks.
• Damaged electrical wiring: Shut off power at the control box if there is any damage to your house wiring.
• Downed or damaged utility lines. Do not touch downed power lines or any objects in contact with them.
• Spills: CLEAN up any spilled medicines, drugs or other potentially harmful materials such as bleach, lye and gasoline or other hazardous materials.
• Downed or damaged chimneys. Approach chimneys with caution. They may be weakened and could topple during aftershocks. Do not use a fireplace with a damaged chimney – it oculd strt a fire or let poisonous gases into your house.
• Fallen items: Beware of items tumbling off shelves when you open the doors of closets and cupboards.

CHECK YOUR FOOD AND WATER SUPPLIES

• If power is off, plan means to use up foods that will spoil quickly or frozen foods. If you keep the door closed, food in your freezer should be good for at least a couple of days.
• Do not light your kitchen stove if you suspect a gas leak.
• Use barbecues or camp stoves outdoors only for emergency cooking.
• If your water is off, you can drink supplies from water heaters, melted ice cubes or canned vegetables. Try to avoid drinking water from swimming pools or especially spas – there may be too many chemicals in them to be safe.

DO NOT…….

• DO NOT eat or drink anything from open containers near shattered glass.
• DO NOT turn the gas on again if you turned it off; let the gas company do it.
• DO NOT use matches, lighters, camp stoves or barbecues, electrical equipment –including telephones–or appliances until you are sure there are no gas leaks. They may create sparks that could ignite leaking gas and cause an explosion and fire.
• DO NOT use your telephone except for a medical or fire emergency. You could tie up lines needed for emergency response. If you need help and the phone does not work, send someone for help.
• DO NOT expect firefighters, police or paramedics to help you right away. They may not be available.

Note: The Information in these sections is reproduced in whole or in part with the permission of the copyright owner, SBC. The SURVIVAL GUIDE is available in the white pages of SBC Directors  2004. This information was provided by medical and emergency service authorities and published as a public service. While every reasonable effort was made to ensure its accuracy, SBC is not responsible and assumes no liability for any action undertaken by any person in utilizing such information. Any person relying upon such information does so at this or her own risk. As real estate professionals, it is our responsibility during each transaction to provide our clients with this booklet of information. However I am only printing parts of it. This information is part of a booklet California Realtors give to our buyers and sellers.