An Update From Earthquake Country
Some of my friends and family think I’m nuts to carry water and energy bars around in an emergency bag in my car. I also carry a spare tire and a jack. I really don't think about my emergency bag or my spare tire unless they are needed--at that point, I'm thankful they are there.
We live in earthquake country on the Central Coast of California, 50 miles from Parkfield—Grand Central Station for the Big One expected by all earthquake experts.
A friend with connections in Christchurch, New Zealand told me that her friends were without water for six days, and their neighborhood still shares a Porta Potti since sewage pipes were destroyed in last month’s 6.3 earthquake. Japan’s 9.0 earthquake last Friday was 8,000 times greater than the one in Christchurch.
Our beaches here on the Central Coast were evacuated and put on tsunami warnings Friday morning. Although only minor damage occurred, other areas in California weren’t so lucky. We are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and have yet to pay our dues.
Our city government is telling us that after a major disaster, community resources will be spread pretty thin. This includes disasters such as earthquake, fire, and terrorist attacks. Prudence would tell us to prepare for any disaster, especially one that seems inevitable at some point in the future. Here are 5 tips to help you prepare for disaster, even personal disaster, such as a house fire or the death of a family member.
Resources for disaster preparation:
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Memorize Psalm 46:1, 2.
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Website 72Hours.org recommends preparing an emergency kit for 72 hours. Their website contains many resources to help you prepare at minimum expense.
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Reader’s Digest explains How to Save a Life in 12 different emergency situations
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Organize your family’s essential information in case of an emergency. I use the book If Something Happens To Me (available on Amazon.com), to keep all our insurance, bank accounts, will, passwords, basic list of bills, doctor’s names and phone numbers, medical data, and even my computer backup information recorded in one location. Then I tell those who would need such information where the book is located in case of an emergency.
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Prepare a home inventory to document everything you own for insurance purposes. This short YouTube clip explains how to do this.
(If you received this post via RSS or email and cannot view the short clip, please visit my Holy in the Daily blog to view it.)
For more information on earthquakes see my post Earthquake--Earth Groaning.
If you have other helpful suggestions, please share them with us in the comment section below.
In Him together, Susan Gaddis