Earthquakes?? Yikes! (Seattle: apartment, lease, how much)

[Chelsielea]

I have never lived in a place where I have had to think about Earthquakes...how much do earthquakes play a role in your lives? Does the Seattle Fault Line and the "big one" worry you?

[Pittgal]

In my every day life it does not play a role. If I think about it, it scares the hell out of me but hubby & I have our emergency plan set in case something ever does happen while we are still out here.

[mayfair]

There are fault lines in the area and earthquakes. Every time a good-sized one comes through I get really shaken up but then forget about them. We have an earthquake kit in the car and precautions taken like having the house bolted to the foundation.

[LMB]

What should we carry in an earthquake kit for the car?

Also, what about the house kit? We've been in Florida the last several years and always replenished our hurricane kit before the season started. I would think it's similar to what would be needed for an earthquake. Is there a recommended website for a comprehensive earthquake kit for the home?

Thanks!

Lynn

[Woof]

There are lots of sites with advice for a kit to be found on Google, you can even order such kits, usually 72 or so hours.

Preparing for disaster is a hobby of mine, so I'll give you my list for the house off the top of my head:

2 gallons drinking water per person per day, at least 3 days.

a variety of canned or other ready-to-eat meals, perhaps including MREs if you don't mind the expense. At least nine full meals.

wrecking bar to battle your way out if it's that bad

LED flashlights (NOT the older kind!), 2 per person, with spare batteries.

Battery powered radio

Extra battery kept charged for your cell phone

dust filter or painters masks

cash to buy coffee and other essentials such as wine or gas for the car. Seriously though, have a hundred or two in the kit as it might be the only means of payment for a little while.

Sleeping bags rated to about 20F, your heating source will likely not be functioning. Most people already have enough clothing to layer throughout the day.

Porta potty with disinfectant (or you can have a gallon of bleach and keep crapping in your toilet, but that smells nastier).

Those disposable towelette thingies to keep clean.

You may wish to have a little camper's propane stove and maybe a French press to make coffee ect, but of course only use it outside because of carbon monoxide and fire hazards.

Have a few boards or sheet of plywood leaning against a wall as a sort of triangular shelter, put the kit under it and get under it at the first sign of shaking.

[Chelsielea]

Originally Posted by Woof

There are lots of sites with advice for a kit to be found on Google, you can even order such kits, usually 72 or so hours.

Preparing for disaster is a hobby of mine, so I'll give you my list for the house off the top of my head:

2 gallons drinking water per person per day, at least 3 days.

a variety of canned or other ready-to-eat meals, perhaps including MREs if you don't mind the expense. At least nine full meals.

wrecking bar to battle your way out if it's that bad

LED flashlights (NOT the older kind!), 2 per person, with spare batteries.

Battery powered radio

Extra battery kept charged for your cell phone

dust filter or painters masks

cash to buy coffee and other essentials such as wine or gas for the car. Seriously though, have a hundred or two in the kit as it might be the only means of payment for a little while.

Sleeping bags rated to about 20F, your heating source will likely not be functioning. Most people already have enough clothing to layer throughout the day.

Porta potty with disinfectant (or you can have a gallon of bleach and keep crapping in your toilet, but that smells nastier).

Those disposable towelette thingies to keep clean.

You may wish to have a little camper's propane stove and maybe a French press to make coffee ect, but of course only use it outside because of carbon monoxide and fire hazards.

Have a few boards or sheet of plywood leaning against a wall as a sort of triangular shelter, put the kit under it and get under it at the first sign of shaking.

WOW. I had no idea there is so much needed!!!! Totally all understandable though.

[mayfair]

My food supply usually consists of crackers and chocolate bars (and water). We have a small tub with flashlight, first aid supplies, thermal blanket, etc. I also keep some extra clothes in the car.

If you have gas heat, be sure to have a wrench and know how to turn the gas off. Water, too. And strap your water heater to the wall.

[Chelsielea]

Originally Posted by mayfair

There are fault lines in the area and earthquakes. Every time a good-sized one comes through I get really shaken up but then forget about them. We have an earthquake kit in the car and precautions taken like having the house bolted to the foundation.

The thought of an earthquake scares the hell out of me. How often does a "good-sized one" happen???? What if you live in an apartment...its not like you can take those extra precautions and bolt your own apartment down, is that something you just have to ask when you lease somewhere? I'm the kind of person who thinks dangerous things through and come up with different ways to react ( I guess to prepare myself, if possible!) and this might sounds like a really dumb question, but when choosing a neighborhood or surrounding city to live in...I'm thinking farther from the fault the better...dumb or no? I seriously dont know much about earthquakes.

[LMB]

Thanks for the list, Woof! Most everything is also what we have in our hurricane kit, with the exception of sleeping bags--keeping warm definitely wasn't an issue during hurricane season! For some ultimate repurposing, the plywood we used to cover our windows could become the triangular shelter. Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard of that.

I've read that you can use the water in your water heater for drinking water if needed. We have a gigantic 70 gal water heater that we were going to exchange for a smaller more efficient one (there's just two of us), but we're not so sure now. We also have a year-round creek that runs through our backyard, so I'm thinking water from there could be hauled in and used to flush toilets manually if needed. There's a lot to think about!

Chelsielea, this is a new concern for us too--we just moved here this summer. I don't intend to stress about it as there is something potentially disastrous nearly everywhere, but I want to be as prepared as possible. Most things in the earthquake kit would also come in handy for long power outages.

Lynn

[sean98125]

Earthquakes? It's the volcanoes you have to worry about.