<< continued   What Should I Do? -- Follow the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety STEP 2 -- Create a Disaster-Preparedness Plan Will everyone in your household know how to react during and after strong earthquake shaking? To be ready for the quakes that are certain to happen in the Bay Area, it is important that your family have a disaster-preparedness plan. Your plan should include most of the following:   Life-Critical Actions In a strong earthquake, individual survival skills will be crucial Practice "drop, cover, and hold on." (See STEP 5) Learn how to protect yourself no matter where you are when a quake strikes. (See STEP 5) Teach children and adults to use emergency whistles and (or) to knock 3 times repeatedly if trapped. Rescuers searching collapsed buildings will be listening for sounds.   Life-Saving Training Doing the following will enable you to help your family and others after a strong quake. Take a Red Cross First Aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training course. Learn who in your neighborhood is trained in first aid and CPR. Know the locations of gas, electricity, and water shutoffs for your home. Know how to use them and keep needed tools nearby. Only turn off the gas if you smell or hear leaking gas. (See STEP 6) Get training from your local fire department in how to properly use a fire extinguisher. Check with your fire department to see if there is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in your area. If not, ask how to start one.   Advance Plans Don't wait until the next earthquake to do the following. Keep shoes and a working flashlight next to each person's bed. Identify safe spots in your home, such as under sturdy desks and tables. Locate a safe place to meet outside your home after the shaking stops. Establish an out-of-area contact person who can be called by everyone in the household to relay information. Provide all family members with a list of important contact phone numbers. Determine the needs of household members and neighbors with special requirements, such as use of a wheelchair, walking aids, special diets, or medication. Learn about the earthquake plan developed by your children's school or day care. Keep copies of essential documents, such as insurance policies and financial records, in a secure location. (See page 29) Test smoke alarms and change the batteries once a year or when the alarm emits a "chirping" sound (low-battery signal). Have occasional disaster "drills" to practice your plan. Discuss your disaster plan and essential information with your babysitters, house sitters, and neighbors.

Your family may be sleeping when the next strong quake hits the Bay Area. After the shaking stops, the lights may be out and broken glass and other dangerous debris may litter the floor, making it unsafe to walk barefoot. Keep a flashlight and a pair of sturdy shoes secured to or within reach of everyone's bed. A good way to do this is to use a drawstring bag tied to a bedpost at the head of the bed for each occupant.

STEP 3 -- Create Disaster Kits Personal Disaster Kits Everyone in your family should have their own personal disaster kits. These kits are collections of supplies they may need when a quake strikes, no matter where they are in the Bay Area. Personalize these kits and keep them where they can easily be reached&emdash;at home, in the car, at work or school. A backpack or other small bag is best for these kits so that they can be easily carried in an evacuation. Include the following items: Medications and medical consent forms for dependents. First aid kit and handbook. Spare eyeglasses and personal hygiene supplies. Bottled water. Whistle (to alert rescuers to your location). Emergency cash. List of emergency contact phone numbers. Snack foods high in calories. Emergency lighting&emdash;light sticks and (or) a working flashlight with extra batteries and light bulbs (hand-powered flashlights are also available). Comfort items, such as games, crayons, writing materials, and teddy bears.

Household Disaster Kit Electrical, water, transportation, and other vital systems can be disrupted for several days after a large earthquake. Emergency response agencies and hospitals will likely be overwhelmed and unable to provide you with immediate assistance. To help your family cope after a strong earthquake, store a household disaster kit in an easily accessible location, preferably outdoors (not in your garage). This kit, which complements your personal disaster kits, should be in a large watertight container that can be easily moved and should hold at least a 3- to 5-day supply of the following items: Drinking water (minimum one gallon per person per day). First aid supplies, medications, and essential hygiene items, such as soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper. Emergency lighting&emdash;light sticks and (or) a working flashlight with extra batteries and light bulbs (hand-powered flashlights are also available). A hand-cranked or battery-operated radio (and spare batteries). Canned and packaged foods and cooking utensils, including a manual can opener. Items to protect you from the elements, such as warm clothing, sturdy shoes, extra socks, blankets, and perhaps even a tent. Heavy-duty plastic bags for waste and to serve other uses, such as tarps and rain ponchos. Work gloves and protective goggles. Pet food and pet restraints. Copies of vital documents, such as insurance policies and personal identification. NOTE: Replace perishable items like water, food, medications, and batteries on a yearly basis.   A Special Note About Children Before the next earthquake, spend time with your kids to discuss what might occur. Involve them in developing your disaster plan, preparing disaster supplies kits (ask them what game or toy they want to include), and practicing "drop, cover, and hold on." In the days after a quake, kids need extra contact and support. They may be frightened and under great stress, and aftershocks won't let them forget the experience. Parents may have to leave children with others in order to deal with the emergency, and this can be scary. Whenever possible, include your children in the earthquake recovery process. Resources for kids to learn about disaster preparedness: http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/kids.html www.fema.gov/kids/ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/

For more information on earthquake preparedness plans and disaster kits go to: Telephone book: The front section of your local phone book American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/http://redcrossshop.org/ Pacific Gas & Electric: http://www.pge.com/education_training/   What Should I Do? -- Follow the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety STEP 4 -- Identify Your Building's Potential Weaknesses and Begin to Fix Them Is your house, condo, or apartment strong enough to withstand an earthquake?   If you live in a single-family home or duplex... You can use the quiz at right to see if your home is likely to be so badly damaged in a future quake that people might be injured or that it would be unsafe to occupy. If your home scores 13 or more points on the quiz, you probably should have a structural engineer, architect, or contractor evaluate it unless it has been strengthened in the last few years. They will check to see if it is strong enough to keep you and your family reasonably safe in a quake. For example: Does your home have enough bolts connecting the "sill plate" to the foundation? (See below) Is there plywood on the inside surface of the crawl space extending from the sill plate to the base of the floor joist above to prevent the wall studs from collapsing? Are there metal brackets connecting the rim joists to the top plates? Is the ground floor a large open space lacking interior walls (weak or "soft" story)? Are there large openings in the walls of the lower story, such as a garage door, that should be better braced? Is your home a hillside house that was not adequately designed to withstand strong earthquake shaking? Once you determine if your home needs retrofitting, identify problems, prioritize how and when to fix them, and get started! The latest recommendations of structural engineers, contractors, and city building officials who are experts on retrofitting are available on the ABAG web site at http://quake.abag.ca.gov/fixit/

Strengthening your crawl space The number of foundation bolts, linear feet of plywood, and floor-to-wall connections (brackets) that are required to seismically retrofit your home varies depending on its size and weight. Remember, earthquakes will find the weak spots in your house. So, if you add bolts but not plywood, you will still have a problem when the ground shakes!

Structural-Safety Quiz for Single-Family Home or Duplex If you live in a single-family home or duplex, the strength of your home depends on when it was built, its style of construction, and its location.   1. When was your home built? Before 1960 = 5 points 1961-1978 = 3 points After 1978 = 1 point   2. How tall is your home? 2 or more stories with living area above a garage = 5 points Split level, on a hillside or gentle slope = 6 points 1 story, 3 or more steps up to the front door = 4 points 1 story, less than 3 steps up to the front door = 1 point   3. How hard is the ground likely to shake under your home? Portions of the Bay Area shown as yellow or green in color on the shaking hazard map (page 8) = 5 points Elsewhere in the Bay Area = 7 points   TOTAL POINTS =_____ If your home scores 13 or more points on the quiz, you probably should have an engineer, architect, or contractor evaluate it unless it has been strengthened in the past few years.

If you live in a condominium or apartment... Many condominiums and apartments have parking on the ground floor. These weak or "soft" first stories may lean or collapse in an earthquake. Some multi-story buildings in the Bay Area can have problems because they were constructed before 1972 of concrete or brick that is inadequately reinforced. Many cities have requirements that these buildings be seismically retrofitted. You are less likely to be killed in a retrofitted building, but you may not be able to reoccupy it after a quake.

The "soft" first story of this apartment building collapsed in the 1994 magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake, crushing cars below and severely damaging the floors above (FEMA photo).

As a renter, ask your landlord these questions: What measures have been taken to ensure the seismic safety of this building? Have water heaters been strapped to the wall studs? Can I secure bookshelves and furniture to the walls? Go to http://quake.abag.ca.gov/fixit/ to take a quiz to see if your apartment building or condominium may need retrofitting. This Web site also has links to information that can help your landlord find appropriate ways to improve the strength of your building.

Mobile home damage in the 1980 magnitude 5.8 Livermore earthquake. (photo courtesy NISEE)

If you live in a mobile home... Look under your home. If you only see a metal or wood "skirt" on the outside with concrete blocks or steel tripods or jacks supporting your home, you need to have an "engineered tie-down system" or an "earthquake-resistant bracing system" (ERBS) installed. An ERBS should have a label on the bracing that says, "Complies with the California Administrative Code, Title 25, Chapter 2, Article 7.5."

Brick chimneys can collapse if shaken... Stay away from chimneys and fireplaces during shaking! Collapsing chimneys cause many injuries in earthquakes&emdash;60,000 chimneys fell in the 1994 magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake. You can reduce the chance of bricks falling through a sheetrock ceiling in a quake by putting sheets of plywood above ceiling framing. However, "retrofitting" masonry chimneys with bracing or strapping is not an effective safety measure, because they may still fall as a unit when exposed to strong shaking.

This chimney broke and nearly fell in the 1969 magnitude 5.6 Santa Rosa earthquake. (photo courtesy NISEE)

Don't be fooled! -- Myth number 5 "WE HAVE GOOD BUILDING CODES, SO WE MUST HAVE SAFE BUILDINGS." The best building code in the world does nothing for buildings built before the code was enacted. Although building codes used in California have some of the strictest seismic provisions in the world, many older buildings have not been "retrofitted" to meet updated codes. Retrofitting&emdash;fixing problems in older buildings&emdash;is the responsibility of a building's owner.

What Should I Do? -- Follow the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety STEP 5 -- Protect Yourself During Earthquake Shaking "DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON" If you are indoors, when you feel strong earthquake shaking, drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on to it firmly until the shaking stops. The previous pages have concentrated on getting you ready for future earthquakes in the Bay Area, but what should you do when the shaking starts?

If you are indoors... "DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON." If you are not near a desk or table, drop to the floor against an interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms. Avoid exterior walls, windows, hanging objects, mirrors, tall furniture, large appliances, and cabinets filled with heavy objects. Do not go outside until well after the shaking stops!   In bed Hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. You are less likely to be injured staying where you are. Broken glass on the floor can cause injuries; be sure to put shoes on before stepping on the floor (see STEP 2)!   In a high rise building DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON. Avoid windows and other hazards. Do not use elevators. Do not be surprised if sprinkler systems or fire alarms activate.   At work DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON. Know your workplace's earthquake safety plan and put it into action. When safe, move to a specified meeting location.   In a public building or theater DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON if possible. If in a theater seat, duck down and protect your head and neck with your arms. Don't try to leave until the shaking is over. Then walk out slowly, watching for fallen debris or anything that could fall on you in aftershocks.   If you are outdoors... Move to a clear area if you can safely do so; avoid buildings, powerlines, trees, and other hazards. Always assume fallen powerlines are live!   Near tall buildings Windows, facades, and architectural details are often the first parts of a building to collapse. Get away from this danger zone when shaking starts. Take refuge in a safe building or an open space.   Driving When able, safely pull over to the side of the road, stop, and set the parking brake. Avoid overpasses, bridges, powerlines, signs, trees, and other things that might collapse or fall on the vehicle. Stay inside the vehicle until the shaking is over. If a powerline falls on the vehicle, stay inside until a trained person removes the hazard.   In a stadium Stay at your seat and protect your head and neck with your arms. Don't try to leave until the shaking is over. Then exit slowly, avoiding debris and watching for anything that could fall in aftershocks.   Near the shore Tsunamis from local earthquakes may flood low-lying coasts within minutes of the quake. Distant, large earthquakes can produce tsunamis that may arrive hours later at California's beaches. If you feel a strong quake, hear a tsunami warning, or notice the water suddenly withdrawing from the beach, evacuate immediately to higher ground. Tsunami waves may continue to arrive for hours, so do not return to the shore until an "all clear message" has been issued. For more tsunami survival tips go to http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/.   Below a dam Dams can fail during a major earthquake. Catastrophic failure is unlikely, but if you are downstream from a dam, you should know flood-zone information and have prepared an evacuation plan. For more information go to the Association of Bay Area Governments Web site at http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/eqfloods/floods.html.

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