This morning's newscast highlighted the need for San Diegans to become more "earthquake prepared".  We have had homes in San Diego and in the Palm Springs area and were living in Palm Desert in 1992 when the Landers earthquake struck with a magnitude of 7.3.  While it was shaking we lost a foot of water out of our pool and my husband, children and I were sitting on our front lawn waiting for the tremor to stop and literally, experiencing motion sickness.  That being said, our home was a mile from the San Andreas fault. 

The cautionary alarm for San Diego, however is unexpected.  My husband has lived in San Diego his entire life and said that he can only remember three earthquakes, two this year and a magnitude 6.5 in 1968.  According to the County of San Diego, there are approximately 500 earthquakes in the State of California a year and San Diego, in comparison to other Southern California areas, has "sparse seismicity".  However, since 1984, they state that the earthquake activity in San Diego County has doubled over that of the preceding 50 years.

The California Earthquake Authority has seven steps for earthquake safety:

Step One:  Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them.  Secure your possessions inside your hutches and bookshelves.  Make sure there are no heavy objects above your sleeping or sitting areas that might fall on you.  Remove or secure any hazardous material kept in the garage.

Step Two:  Create a disaster plan.  What do you want your family members to do if an earthquake strikes?  Where do you want them to meet, what do you want them to do and who do you want them to contact?  Have a "drill" to practice your plan and share your plan with your family, friends, and people who take care of your children.

Step Three:  Create disaster supplies kits.  Make three kits, one for your home, car and work.  Backpacks or other small carrying bags are best.  Research websites to find a list of items you should include.  Don't forget your household disaster supplies in the event that services, water and food supplies are disrupted for a period of time after a large earthquake.

Step Four:  Identify your building's potential weaknesses and begin to fix them.  Look around and determine the weak points of your home and find out about retrofitting them.  If you rent, ask your landlord about problem areas and if you live in a mobile home, look under your home or have an inspector give you an evaluation.

Step Five:  During earthquakes and aftershocks:  drop, cover and hold on.  During an earthquake, the exterior walls are usually the most dangerous area to be and avoid windows which can shatter.  Stay inside if you are inside and outside if you are outside.  If inside, drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table and hold on to it firmly.  If you are outside, move to a clear area and avoid power poles, trees, signs, buildings, vehicles and other hazards.

Step Six:  After the earthquake, check for injuries and damage.  Take care of your own situation and then implement your family's emergency plan.  Get to a safe location and be sure to take your disaster supplies kit.  Protect yourself and your family by wearing sturdy shoes and work gloves to avoid getting cut from debris.  Check websites for first aid information to include in your emergency kit.

Step Seven:  When safe, continue to follow your disaster plan.  Aftershocks may occur, so follow your plan and the recovery period can take several weeks to several months... so be prepared!  While the Landers quake caused us to pay attention and develop a plan, we did not suffer much damage, other than a few broken glasses and fried nerves.  However, we did experience after shocks that felt as strong as the first quake! 

Nothing says it better than BE PREPARED and don't be lulled into what we experienced that it couldn't happen here.  It is happening and with more frequency and the time to get prepared is now!

Related Laxson Realty Blog Post:  San Diego Buyers & Earthquakes