How to Prepare for an Earthquake

Several years ago, while I was living in California, I experienced my first earthquake. It wasn’t a large-scale event, but it was strong enough (4.2) to feel it in our apartment that morning. Since that time, my wife and I and our three kids have gone back to California several times for our family vacations. This got me thinking, how can we be prepared for an earthquake, should one occur?

To be prepared for an earthquake, you should do the following:

1- Have a plan

Whether you live in a high-risk area or are just visiting, you should have an action plan. If the earthquake hits while you are at home, work or around town, you should be aware of your surroundings. This is important because if you are in a building when an earthquake hits, you’ll want to get yourself under a large desk/table or in the doorway to prevent objects from falling on you. Practice the “DCH” or Drop, Cover and Hold technique.

Drop:
Drop to the floor. This will prevent you from losing your balance and uncontrollably falling where you could hit your head. On the floor with four points of contact you will be able to move around with more control.

Cover:
Cover your head with your arms and get under a table, desk or doorway. By doing this, you’ll prevent other objects from falling on top of you or have some protection should a falling object strike you.

Hold:
Once you’re under the doorway or desk, you should hold on to something stable to help support yourself and prevent you from being bounced out into the open where you are at risk of falling objects.

Once the earthquake has stopped, you should have a rendezvous point where you can meet up with other family members. This is where you can access if everyone is accounted for, and if someone is missing, you’ll know who.

Simply having a plan is not enough. Practice executing the plan with your family members. Explain to your kids what an earthquake is and what each family member will need to do, should one occur. This should be done whether you are visiting an area even if you don’t have earthquakes where you’re from. Can you imagine what it would be like as a kid, having never been explained to what an earthquake is and what you need to do? You would probably think it was the end of the world. All of a sudden, the ground starts shaking and pictures start falling from the wall; I would have nightmares for months afterwards.  Be prepared and help educate your kids so that they can be prepared also.

BLS/CPR:
Basic Life Support. BLS training is required for health care professionals and other professionals that work in an environment where CPR may be needed. CPR is used to help a person whose heart has stopped beating properly, or who has stopped breathing, and can triple a victim’s chance of survival when initiated quickly after onset.

breath again in the event of a person suffering from cardiac arrest or any other type of injury which results in a person not breathing.

Remember the CAB’s to CPR to help you remember the proper steps. They are:

Chest Compressions: Begin with chest compressions. Compressions will immediately start to circulate the blood, moving it to the brain as well as the lungs where it can pick up the residual oxygen that resides there. Also, if the airway is blocked or trauma to the face makes it hard to perform rescue breathing then only compressions will be given. Either way oxygenated blood is being circulated to these vital organs without any delay. Chest compressions should be performed at a rate of 100 compression per minute. Said another way, if only giving chest compressions, push hard and push fast. In an adult the compression depth should be 2 inches. In fact, it is recommended that the lay rescuer should only perform compressions and forgo the breathing.

Airway: If a person’s airway is blocked by a foreign object it should be removed to allow air that will be delivered by your rescue breaths to enter the lungs. This is determined by tilting the victim’s head backwards, plugging their nose, and delivering the breaths mouth to mouth while fully making a seal around their mouth. If the breaths do not go in, there is an obstructed airway. You should immediately begin chest compressions as this will increase the pressure within the chest cavity and may be sufficient to force the object out, restoring a viable airway. Even if the airway is not cleared, the compressions will circulate the residual air in the lungs.

Breathing: If breaths are delivered, the ratio of chest compressions to breaths is 30:2. Each of the two breaths should be delivered for a second, watching to see the chest rise and fall between breaths.

Disclaimer: This discussion on the CAB’ of CPR is not intended to be a full explanation of how to perform CPR. Rather, it is to help the reader understand the major components that comprise CPR. If interested in learning CPR, please enroll to take a class and become proficient in this potentially life saving skill.

3- Know the Emergency Contact Info

Regardless of where you are in the United States, 911 is the number to call for emergencies. However, you may want to know some other emergency numbers such as the police, fire department, Hospital, and other family members phone numbers.

It would be wise to know or have a record of every members blood type and medical history to help first responders quickly access the situation and make an informed decision.

How Are Earthquakes Measured?

Because earthquakes can be felt all over the world, scientists and government agencies have set up the Global Seismographic Network or GSN that records real time data from each earthquake around the world. Today, there are over 150 different stations distributed globally that all work together to gather data.

Each seismic station within the network measures the movement of ground or vibration at its specific location. That data is then compared with other stations around the world to locate the source of the earthquake and measure its strength.

While there are different methods to measure an earthquake, the Richter Scale and the Moment Magnitude Scale are the two methods primarily used.  The Richter Scale measures the largest “wiggle” on the recording graph but is considered out of date. The Moment Magnitude Scale is considered more accurate as it measures the size of the earthquake source regardless of what the shaking feels like or where you are located in the world. After the data from several GSN stations have been analyzed, the earthquake is then ranked on the Magnitude scale that ranges between 2-10.

The reason for starting the range at 2 is because anything less than 2-2.5 is usually not detectable without an seismograph reading. A moderate earthquake is a 5 and may cause some slight damage to your house.

Another form of measurement is the intensity of the earthquake. The Intensity is a measure of the shaking and damage that is caused by the earthquake. The further a structure is away from the epicenter of the quake, the less likely it is that structural damage will occur.

Earthquakes are extremely dangerous and unpredictable as to when they will strike. Being prepared for the “Worst Case Scenario” is the best thing you can do! Remember, Have a plan, practice the plan, be prepared to help others if needed, and have the proper equipment with you to increase the chances of survival.