Earthquake.... A Real Wakeup Call
We certainly had a huge wakeup call last night with a 7.1 Earthquake centered 60 miles west of Homer Alaska. Thank Goodness there were no reports of injuries. Minor damage for the most part. However after the quake gas leaks caused a fire on a home in Kenai and 20 plus homes were evacuated until it was under control. Kalifornsky Beach Road was also damaged and power outages affected around 10,000 homes in Nikiski Soldotna and Anchorage.
Somehow we made it through here without any of those issues. Strange how we were closest to the center and had less damage than Anchorage 250 miles away. Facebook was light up with people talking about the quake. It was 1:30 in the morning and if you weren’t awake when it happened...well not many people slept through it. It got our attention.
My friend was in Anchorage on the 12th floor of a Hotel with her son and his buddy. The power was out, she could see people running out of a bar below in a sheer panic and she was scared. She wanted me to tell her what to do… frankly I wasn’t sure. Should she stay put or go down the stairs and get out of the building. We were waiting for the aftershocks. For another shaker. For an answer as to what to do. We could hear sirens and she said she could see smoke across town. I finally told her to call the front desk on her cell phone. They told her to stay put. We talked for a while until we felt safe that it was over.
So what is the answer in an Earthquake. Your first impulse is to run outside. Get away from the building. If you are outside you have to watch for power lines and other objects that can fall on you. I grew up in Tornado country, I am not an expert on Earthquakes. They say DROP onto your hands and knees so you are down but can move if you need to. COVER your head and neck with your hands and get under a sturdy desk or table if possible then HOLD ON till the shaking stops. Here is some really good information to read and practice.
http://www.earthquakecountry.org/dropcoverholdon/
As morning dawned we are all, for the most part, Okay.
But we need to Pay Attention and Be Ready and Prepared for the next one!
There will be one… let’s hope it is not worse than this one!
Some other websites to go to for more information are here.
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