Earthquake Prep...what do you have ready?

[cmcdonald]

Got a good shake last night(Tuesday) at 11:39pm from a 4.9 quake. Scared the crap outta me. There's been small quakes here before but I've missed most of them. Been on the road a lot over the last 25 years.

Just reminded me to up my game on the emergency preparations. We're pretty good but not good enough. However, better than many people I know around here.

Just curious what my fellow, southern, west coast MO members have ready for earthquakes. We all know California gets more than their share. Ours was small and no significant damage of any kind. But a wake up call to up my game nonetheless.

 

[MikeD]

I saw the same picture for the small quake we actually did have here a while back.

No real plan, we have had a few rumblings in my lifetime but nothing of note.

 

[cmcdonald]

I saw the same picture for the small quake we actually did have here a while back.

No real plan, we have had a few rumblings in my lifetime but nothing of note.

We are in a major earthquake zone here. They've been telling us for years and years we should be prepared for a big one...like an 8-9 magnitude quake. They say it's not a matter of "if" it's a matter of "when". The seismologists say we get many quakes here everyday, just most are so small they can't be felt.

There's a very good reason why Vancouver Island is now an island.....

 

[LAZY EYED SNIPER]

Just curious what my fellow, southern, west coast MO members have ready for earthquakes.

...about forty pounds of Jell-O so I can make one of these...

 

[Deog]

Hate to say it, earthquakes are good for the economy, and lots of people leave because the earthquake freaks them out.
I keep water, canned food, 15 gallons of fuel, full propane tanks and lots of BOO LETS.

 

[John A.]

We are in a major earthquake zone here. They've been telling us for years and years we should be prepared for a big one...like an 8-9 magnitude quake. They say it's not a matter of "if" it's a matter of "when". The seismologists say we get many quakes here everyday, just most are so small they can't be felt.

There's a very good reason why Vancouver Island is now an island.....

they say we're way overdo for a big one in my area, and jellystone park sometimes melts the roads going through it and with more frequent and strong seismic activity too.

These mountains I live in didn't just appear one day.

Oh wait !!!

https://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/pinemountain.htm

 

[John A.]

Forgot to add, here's a screenshot showing epicenters of recent earthquakes in my immediate area as indicated by the broken house markers. The largest being a 4.7 @ 17 miles deep.



This chart is incomplete, but, this is just supposedly for my single county, not the region.

 

[carbinemike]

We are in a major earthquake zone here. They've been telling us for years and years we should be prepared for a big one...like an 8-9 magnitude quake. They say it's not a matter of "if" it's a matter of "when". The seismologists say we get many quakes here everyday, just most are so small they can't be felt.

There's a very good reason why Vancouver Island is now an island.....

I assume that you are affected by the geologic "ring of fire" that surrounds the Pacific. If you are on the ring of fire then yes, at some point you will get a big one. Parts of California are moving toward Canada. It will take billions of years to get there but I'm willing to save time and cede them now if you be willing to take them.

The History Channel series "How The Earth Was Made" had a good episode on the topic:

 

[OhioArcher]

Surely the powers-that-be figured earthquakes into the Climate Change Summit! How can the Earth be allowed to constantly change and release tons of gases into the atmosphere from earthquakes and volcanos? This must be stopped. The Earth can not be allowed to evolve this way...

 

[Tuflehundon]

I never really did anything special when I lived in California for earthquake prep. It was either no big deal, or so bad that it destroyed everything. The only way to prepair for the big one is to move away like I did as soon as I got out of the Marines. (I actaully moved away due to the comunist politics)

Now that I live in Florida were we have hurricanes, I do keep extra supplies. I have a full med kit, plenty of extra batteries. I have 3 propane tanks and keep 2 of them full at all times. Picked up a genorator, and a couple of Yeti coolers that I use when hunting and camping. They will also keep food cold for like 10 days. I keep extra non perishable food around during that time of year. Bought a chain saw and pole saw. Charlie came through and my neighbor and I spent 2 days cutting trees out of the roadways so people could get in and out. Have several 5 gallon gas cans. Getting fuel is easy, but you need to be able to carry it. Chem lights are great to have around as well. They last all night, and can be used to signal people as well.

I also moved 2 blocks over. In the 04 hurricanes, the people 2 blocks over got back power in 4 days, took us 14 days. Found out that the line that fed their houses, also fed the local hospital, so it was a priority.

 

[cmcdonald]

Thanks for the input guys. I do appreciate it.

@Deog, got most of the basics covered...and a few of them BOO LETS too.

@John A., what do "they" say you should expect for a large quake in that area?

I looked around for something similar to the map you posted above. But the best I could find for my area was a breakdown of quakes by strength, year and location...no visuals.

@carbinemike, definitely on the ring of fire here. No smart arse comments now!

Saw an IMAX show years and years ago all about it...pretty impressive and disconcerting if you spend too much time thinking about it.

Also saw a couple programs about the Yellowstone Super Volcano. Now that's an emeffer....(I'm not referring to that stinker 2012 either). If that thing ever comes to life...ain't nowhere to hide.

@Tuflehundon...some good ideas there. I've got 2 chainsaws at the cabin. Been meaning to bring one home for just what you said above. Got gas, water and food.

Being in an urban setting just makes the dangers and risks that much more...IMHO. I'm hoping in the next 5-10 years we can move either into a more rural area of the interior of BC or even Vancouver Island. Both have less people and less rainfall.

Having elderly folks to look after definitely affects my planning and preparations. I can only hope we don't see a big one while they're alive. It would be a tough haul for them...and me.

Anyone in a similar situation with older folks around to care for?

Fortunately, my folks aren't hard up so they can afford to spend a few bucks for preparations. Well, actually I'll spend it for them and get what they need. My Pa is a worrier and if I left it to him, he'd empty his bank account trying to cover every possible angle. It would be fun though!! We'd have a massive off-roader, a boat and helicopter I'm sure!!

He's all about buggin out...so am I really. Get me the heck away from this loonie city in a SHTF situation. At least we've got 2 capable 4x4's (V8 Explorer and F150 Crew Cab) between us...could seat up to 8-10 people and gear with both. But my folks...at their age, it just may not be possible. Have to prepare for both hunkering down and bug out. Too costly to fully commit to one or the other.

So have to do the best we can I 'spose.

 

[aksavanaman]

I'll be honest... I've got nothing and I live in the same ring as you CMC

I don't worry about water much since we live in a rain forrest and I could easy capture enough to get by, although I do have two 7 gallon jugs... just without water in'm lol.

Food is really hard for us since my daughter has multiple food allergies and I can't just stock up on Mountainhouse's and Ramen. We do keep 50lbs bags of oats (pretty much make anything baked out of it) and I probably have 20 lbs of beans. If I can keep extra bags of chicken feed around, I could get eggs indefinitely.

Nothing much of a med kit other than a few first aid kits. Don't have a generator, but I do always eye a little 3500W snap on that's always priced around $300 but have never bought it.

Lots of blankets, including wool and clothing to keep us warm for a few days.

I could do better

 

[cmcdonald]

I'll be honest... I've got nothing and I live in the same ring as you CMC

I don't worry about water much since we live in a rain forrest and I could easy capture enough to get by, although I do have two 7 gallon jugs... just without water in'm lol.

Food is really hard for us since my daughter has multiple food allergies and I can't just stock up on Mountainhouse's and Ramen. We do keep 50lbs bags of oats (pretty much make anything baked out of it) and I probably have 20 lbs of beans. If I can keep extra bags of chicken feed around, I could get eggs indefinitely.

Nothing much of a med kit other than a few first aid kits. Don't have a generator, but I do always eye a little 3500W snap on that's always priced around $300 but have never bought it.

Lots of blankets, including wool and clothing to keep us warm for a few days.

I could do better

Don't feel bad AK...I know what it's like. 300 bucks on a genny don't seem like much until it's the difference between grocery shopping, kids clothes or gas in the truck.

A genny is on my list too...but its a way down the line yet. Maybe it's my Scottish blood, but I find it hard to spend money on what if's....however, the thought of being caught short, that just spurs me on a little at a time.

 

[aksavanaman]

I've got two chest freezer stuffed with who knows how much $$$ worth in fish and game... no doubt I'd cry if we'd loose power long enough for it to go bad!

 

[cmcdonald]

I've got two chest freezer stuffed with who knows how much $$$ worth in fish and game... no doubt I'd cry if we'd loose power long enough for it to go bad!

Had to rub it in didn't ya...bastard!!

 

[John A.]

McDonald, all the "potential" earthquake estimates I've heard are a lot like the weather forecast. 50% chance of anything from a mild grumble up to end of the world stuff for anyone unfortunate enough to have feet on the ground when it happens. Who knows. But they say if there is a sudden "slip" in the plate that I'm standing on, not to expect to tell any stories about it.

Yes, I have several older people in my family that I would take care of. Their medical needs are much more of a concern for me than anything else. But I don't live in any form of large city at all. I don't pretend to ever be "safe" because everyone here is armed as well as I am, but at the same time, that's also somewhat comforting in a way. Long as it's not to the dog eat dog portion of things, which I know we all hope will never be the case.

Most of my supplies are for staying put. Which is exactly what I plan to do, unless it is a major chem, bio, or fall out type thing. Then I'm going to wherever the wind isn't blowing it. Likely be taking an extended vacation to the Bahama's or Belize or somewhere warm.

 

[Tuflehundon]

That's one of the advantages we have here in FL. Our natural disaster is hurricanes. We generally get a weeks notice, sometimes more. So we have time to prep things ahead of time. Or, like many people here do, put up your storm shuttters and get the heck out of Dodge. With the older folks, that's one of the easier things to do, go visit some relative that live out of state for a while.

Anything lower than a Cat 3 storm, and we just have hurricane parties. I remember playing jungle football in Okinawa when a typhone came through. We were stuck in the barracks for several days, and we had a huge party, bought the PX out of beer within 30 minutes. We were all hammered. Put on our flaks and helmets and went outside to play football. MP's yelled at us over the intercoms, but never came out to stop us. We played for 45 minutes until Tommy threw the ball and it kept flying due to the storm. That sobered us up pretty quick and we decided it was time to go back inside.

 

[OhioArcher]

We had ample warning about Hurricane Andrew but it was mostly just a Tropical Storm and headed away from us...until we woke up Sunday morning with the SPs blaring on their car speakers to evacuate the base. I stayed with the Base Recovery team. We had no idea a Cat 5 storm was going to run us over. When we returned to the base (a 20 minute trip up, a 2 1/2 hour trip back) the base was destroyed. So was everything around it. Worse shit I've ever been thru. Never want to go thru it again.