Pre-Quake Prep Check-List
This list is quite extensive yet highly recommended! Some of these items you might have already. There's no priority order here, just have them!
Many of the items below can be found in any store.
- Rule 1 - If you don't have these items below, .. GET THEM!
- Rule 2 - If you haven't done these things, ..... DO THEM! - GET 'R DONE!
Equipment
- - CROW BARS, small and large. If doors are jammed or windows need smashing to get in/out, you'll need them. I keep a big one next to the bed and smaller one in the car. If a quake hits us again, it's VERY POSSIBLE your door will jam on you especially if your home or apartment moves off its foundation. Learn how to use them or you might be stuck for a long time!
It was amazing how many people could not either get in or out of their doors after a quake. What can you do unless you want to break your leg or dislocate your shoulder by bashing it in? Get a couple of crow bars and learn how to use them. We are serious!
- - GLOVES AND PLASTIC GOGGLES. Get yourself a couple of pairs. Heavy-duty types with leather palms. Have you ever picked up shards of glass or little pieces without them? Also, get yourself a pair of plastic goggles. I got mine for only $1.00. I promise you that you'll use both of these items.
- - SHOES. Have a good pair of heavy-duty shoes. Hiking shoes or working shoes are great. Save your old sneakers and store them in your car and by your bed and even a pair wrapped in plastic and hidden in the garage or backyard.
- - STORAGE CONTAINERS like Plastic Buckets, a Waist Pack, book bag, whatever. Keep clothes, food, first-aid all together in them. One for the car, another next to your bed.
- - DISPOSABLE ITEMS like plates, and utensils. You can buy a bag of plastic forks, knives, and spoons for a buck! A Swiss Army Knife is great. You can buy a huge bag of plastic forks, knives, and spoons for a couple dollars. Use them and then trash them. Here you save water too.
- - SHOVEL. Got to barry your waste if there's no trash pickup for awhile and to keep things livable around you. And don't forget other tools like a hammer, screw drivers, heavy gloves, etc. If your windows are broken, and count on them being broken in any decent quake, then you need a hammer to board-up them up.
First Aid
- - FIRST-AID. Spend about $15 bucks and get yourself a good first-aid kit. Learn CPR, I can't stress this enough either. Your kit should include aspirin or ibuprofen. Chap Stick. Dental emergency kit which has things in it like temporary filling replacements. And do NOT forget TWEEZERS. Notice the emphasis there? If you get glass or splinters in your hand, how you going to get them out? Hey, for the heck of it go look in your medicine cabinet and see if you have any or not.
- - RUBBING ALCOHOL and HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. Cheap items to buy. First cleans and disinfects and later for killing germs and bacteria for cuts and scrapes. Often drug stores have them for like .50 each.
- KEEP ON HAND Aspirin, Tyenol, Ibuprofen, Extra Prescriptions and eyeglasses. Keep an extra pair of glasses in your car's glove box. And for contact lens wearers, you better have extra solution otherwise you'll be living in pain. Some folks keep medicines in their refridgerator in airtight plastic bags and containers. They stay fresher and last much longer this way.
Nice To Have
- - NYLONE ROPE, at least 100'.
- - KEEP YOUR CAR'S GAS TANK FULL at all times if possible. Remember a large earthquake cuts off electricity so the gas station's pump will not be working. Also, you might need your car as a place of shelter to live in for a few nights. And, many newer camping appliances like Coleman stoves and lanterns can use unleaded fuel right from your car's gas tank. And since I mentioned this, make sure you buy one of those cheap siphons to get the gas out. Get the hint?
- -FLASHLIGHTS. First, make sure you have at least ONE light. Keep that one next to your bed. I use a very long rubber-handle type so I can grab it quickly if I need to. Keep another flashlight in your car and put others around your home. I'm serious! And make sure you have a GOOD flashlight. One that has an extra bulb in it, too. BATTERIES. Again, check the shelf-life of the battery. Alkaline and Lithium are good batteries. Get 3 extra sets of them. Load up on 'D' size batteries. In addition, get some 'Instant Chemical Lightsticks.' These are small plastic sticks that you twist and they glow brightly in the dark. Some last up to 2 hours or more.
Shelter
- - A TENT, if you got one. You can buy cheap tube tents for around $10.00 which will hold 2 people and it has a floor. When doing my research for this help guide, I was amazed at how many people sell their old camping gear. Check out the classifieds for a good deal on a used tent!
- - BLANKETS. Those Emergency "Space" Blankets are perfect and usually only a couple of dollars at the survival stores. If you haven't seen one before, they are small and metallic looking. If don't have that have something, please. Why not keep an old sleeping bag in your trunk and a few outside? I also want to mention plastic again. Get some of those plastic painter covers in case you need to sleep on the ground which gets damp and moist.
- - MONEY. I suggest $5.00 in change for phone booths. And $50.00 cash to buy items. Carry duplicate credit cards, too. Forget check writing, no one will accept it. Again, the ATM machines need both electricity and working phone lines in order to give you cash. Forget about them for a few weeks.
- - POST CARDS AND SPRAY PAINT. It might sound dumb now. But we do suffer an earthquake of great magnitude, phone lines will be down and you might be separated from family and friends. HOWEVER, that old adage "The mail will go through" is quite true. Mail delivery will start up quite fast as long as there's an address! Post cards with STAMPS ON THEM can be sent out to loved ones telling them about your condition after the quake. SPRAY PAINT? Use it to spray message on your walls or doors should you leave your house. Make sense now?
Be Prepared
- - FURNITURE. Do you have pictures, book shelves, or anything on your wall where you sleep? Move them! Hundreds of people needed stitches because of things falling on their head.
- SECURE free-standing furniture like entertainment centers, bookcases, and china cabinets to wall studs using what is called a "L" brackets or Angle brackets and use Lag screws at least 3" long. Use screw "eyes" to hang pictures and mirrors by threading hanging wire through the screw eye. Try to replace your fixed old pipes connecting to your water heater with the flexible type. Do you have lots of trinkets and antique plates? Try using microcrystalline was or beeswax, silicone adhesives or double-sided foam tape to secure these items.
- - SHOES! I just can't say enough about these. Next time you go out and buy your Nikes or LA GEAR, KEEP THOSE OLD ONES! Keep a spare in the trunk of your car with other clothes. Including underwear and socks. Also, keep your shoes close by your bed. Again, if you have an emergency bag in your bedroom, all you have to do is grab the kids, your wife and your emergency bag. I will never forget seeing the news from this last quake of how many people came walking out without shoes onto glass, nails, and splintered wood. Imagine stepping on a board filled with nails and wearing no shoes? And you probably didn't know that foot injuries were the single largest hospital injury? Guess why?
- - CAMCORDER. Do you have a camcorder? Then go buy a $6.00 tape and record your entire home, inside and out. Talk about the items you're taping and include your car(s), pets, children, pots and pans including your yard. You name it then record it. WHY? Well, remember the BIG FIRES California just had? Those who had video taped their belongings were able to show their insurance agents and got checks on the spot! No arguing here as you have the proof! Keep a copy with a friend or in safety deposit box. This is a life save, indeed!
- - IF YOU SUSTAIN PROPERTY DAMAGE, you'll need to get it fixed. But beware of phony contractors promising you the world. CHECK THEM OUT FIRST! A real good contractor will not take a dime until the work is done. Because if they don't get paid after the work, they can place a lien on your home. ASK FOR REFERENCES. If a contractor can't give you any, forget them. Call the references. And always get, if you can, 3 to 5 bids. If all those bids, except one, say about $10,000 and that one is for $3,500--forget the low bid if it's totally unbelievable. There are many excellent contractors out there.
- - WALLS. In the event of an earthquake, being against a wall and preferably a corner is a good place to be, including that of your doorway. Ask any construction worker and they will tell you how sturdy these areas are. The roof may fall in, but corners will most likely stand.
Needful Things
- - MORAL HELP. Have a Bible around. What a great time to read it! For the kids, have reading material, bubble-gum, and little snack foods like Graham Crackers and Cheerios around. I found prayer to be a powerful thing to use. Talk to your God as you would simply talk to a good friend.
- DO YOU FEEL YOU MIGHT NEED SOME POST-QUAKE COUNSELING? There are many places that will help you. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
- - GUNS: While I'm not suggesting you need to run out and buy a gun, as that is totally up to you and your every right to do so, I am suggesting not to panic. When the next big quake hits us, there will be days of recovery from taking care of ourselves and family to that of helping others. Soon following, local law enforcement and the National Guard will be close to your homes and businesses to protect you. Many who had businesses and could stay by them, have done so with a gun(s) for protection of their property.
- - SAFETY IN NUMBERS: As they say, "There's safety in numbers." If you have a game plan after a quake, you should check on your neighbors. Having enough food and water to share with a few others also makes good sense as you'll become a group and then the group tends to look after all others within it's own group. Make sense?
- - DO YOU HAVE PETS? Pets get very nervous as they have a greater sensitivity to noise and vibration than we do. Love them. Make sure you have a good leash or rope in case your walls in the backyard tumble down. Keep one in your car also. It just might be that you can't get back into your home for whatever reasons forced to leave your pets behind. GET YOUR ANIMAL LICENSED! Beside being a law, IF you're dog or cat is licensed you most likely have a tag for them anyway. If an animal is found, the good folks at the animal control center will contact you! Don't worry as there is help for you. If you've lost them, start calling around and don't give up as someone most likely is taking care of them!
- LASTLY, relax and be calm. Use your common sense. And check on your neighbors especially the elderly. You'll know whether to stay inside your home or not too. Again, check on your neighbors. They will never forget your help as you won't if someone next door helps you.
The Unexpected
Expect things not to be normal for some time. However, help will quickly be on its way, I'm sure. If you have water, most importantly, and some food, you'll make it! If things get TOO BAD, the RED-CROSS should be out very quickly. Your portable radio would tell you immediately where to go.
You also might want to try your local church, many of them have Community Services at their local churches already setup to help local folks for such a disaster. Don't underestimate the amount of help people will offer.
