Earthquake: Drop
Cover & Hold Drill
Emergency Supplies Checklist
Preparing Your Family
Tips for
Preparing Children
Tips for the
Physically Challenged
Tips for the Elderly
Tips for Apartment and
Mobile Home Managers
Organizing Your
Neighborhood
Tips for Pet Owners
How To Secure
Your Furniture
How To Strap Your
Water Heater |
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After an earthquake
or other disaster, emergency response agencies could be overburdened and
might not be able to get to your neighborhood immediately. You and your
neighbors or coworkers may need to take the initial emergency response
actions and take care of others for at least 72 hours. Past earthquakes have
thrust many untrained people into positions of providing first aid and
rescuing people. You need to be prepared!
If a response team has not been organized in your neighborhood or workplace,
form one now. Joining and forming a community response team can greatly
improve your chances of surviving an earthquake and can improve the
self-sufficiency of your neighborhood.
Training
- Learn simple firefighting techniques.
- Learn basic search-and-rescue skills.
- Learn to assess yourself, your family and coworkers for injuries.
- Learn to assess your home and workplace for hazards or damage.
- Learn to assess your community for hazards, needs and available
resources.
Contact your local police and fire
departments, city/county Office of Emergency Services, American Red Cross
chapter or community college to arrange for speakers and training workshops.
Response teams should arrange to participate in annual earthquake exercises
sponsored by local government and businesses.
Inventory Your Neighbors' Skills
As part of the community response team planning process, teams should
conduct an inventory of the skills and resources available at home, work and
community. You should have this information on hand before an earthquake for
efficient, effective responses. Identify people who:
- Have medical, electrical, child care, leadership, firefighting and
survival skills.
- Own chain saws, citizens band radios, four-wheel drive vehicles,
motorcycles and water purifiers.
- Are willing and able to be a runner/bicycler to deliver messages if
telephone lines are down.
Every home or office has people with special needs. Your neighborhood
response team should work with these individuals in advance to determine
what extra assistance or supplies they may require after an earthquake or
other emergency. Some of the people who may require special assistance
include:
Physically Challenged
- Deaf or hearing impaired
- Blind
- Limited mobility -- wheelchair-bound
- Persons who require a special oxygen supply
- Persons with significant medical conditions
Other
- Children who spend time alone at home
- Non-English speaking
Store Supplies
In addition to the water, food and other supplies that everyone needs to
stock, members of the community response team should store tools. Items such
as the following should be stored in a central and easily accessible
location.
- Gloves and goggles
- Adjustable wrenches
- Hard hats and vests
- Flashlights with extra batteries
- Axes and crowbars
- Ropes
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