Today’s message is to prepare you and your family; not to scare you. Yesterday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of N. California was strong enough to capture today’s headlines and get your attention, A big mess, but no injuries … Temblor Causes Significant Damage, Knocks Out Power in Ferndale, Eureka. (The Press Democrat, page 1.)
Many of us will ask ourselves, Am I ready to cope with a major quake? If our nearby Rodgers Creek Fault shakes and rattles, will we remember to roll? (That is: DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops.)
The Trio (Me, Myself, & I) could go on; but ever since we started to post blogs on Petaluma360, over 50 of them have dealt with Emergency Preparedness issues and concerns. In fact, our first blog for January, 2007, was titled: Emergency Preparedness #9 – When will all these “warning signals” stop? Even if you think you are prepared, it would be wise to take a few minutes to review “what to do BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER an earthquake.”
The following three links will take you to the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) site that will provide you with basic information for you and your family. (Don’t forget to share this blog and references with your neighbors, because when such an event occurs, it’s also about neighbors helping neighbors.) http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_before.shtm http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_after.shtm
If you are interested in taking a few more minutes to learn about the Bay Area earthquake probabilities, go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/ucerf/
When you wake up at 3:00 a.m., like The Trio do and you have nothing better to do than surf the Internet, check out some of the 50+ Emergency Preparedness blogs that have been archived on Petaluma360 since March 2006.
Stay tuned. I’m positive there will be additional Wake-up Calls to blog about. Please remember that all these information sources are meant to prepare you, not scare you. Eagle-Eyes and Hammerhead insist that we also include: Pocket Guide to Emergency Preparedness http://www.sonoma-county.org/health/ph/phpreparedness/community/ Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/