People on the U.S. West Coast and along the New Madrid fault...

[Auggie]

Do you have an earthquake kit at home and the office?

Yeah, office. When I worked in downtown San Francisco we were advised to keep a pair of thick-soled boots in our offices because after a big quake the debris surrounding our high-rise would be piled high. Some food and water too -- if that debris were glass you might be trapped for a day or two until it was removed.

[alfredo]

1. I have one, but it is for Tornadoes. I dress up in "sensible" clothing if

we have a tornadoes in the region.

[Lebam in LA]

2. Don't forget the car too.

I restocked my earthquake kits this weekend. Added lots more water and extra dog food. I sent my boss out today to get extra cat food and water. It won't be long before somewhere is the US a large quake strikes. Waiting for FEMA or any other gov service will be a huge mistake.

[Auggie]

5. Excellent point

[Lebam in LA]

7. ..

I used to keep a small amount of water in my back seat and the rest in the trunk. My new car has access to the trunk from the back seat so if I can't open the trunk for some reason I can still get to my kit. Wouldn't it be awful to have all that stuff in the trunk and you cant get to it. So many things to think about and plan for.

[xxqqqzme]

3. have kept an earthquake kit in my house - actually 2 -

since going thru the big shaker in Palm Springs in '86. We were w/o power for 5 days after that one. My mom & dad. in another part of the city, got their power back after 1 day, so I moved frozen food to their house. No one remembers that quake but it is the strongest one I've experienced. First time I ever saw a stove walk across a litchen.

[kestrel91316]

15. During the Northridge quake in '94, my neighbor at the print shop

had me come over and see where his GIGANTIC COFFIN-SIZED TWO TON (or whatever) copier had walked (jumped, actually) 18 inches across the floor.

[Mountainman]

4. Think about this. There is a massive earth quake in the financial district of Los Angeles.

You are among the 1 in 1,000 who has food and water and thick soled boots in your cubicle. It's after about a week and people still can't get home because the freeway system is knocked out around town and the cars all got smashed to smithereens in the parking garages.

You sit there and patiently and eat your survival food while others stand and around and watch wishing they are as prepared as you. NOT!

What we need is massive storage of survival stuffs in central areas around the city. Imagine if there were a large supply of survival food stored at the stadium in New Orleans. It would take building the storage places but it could be done.

[Neecy]

6. Here's what would happen....

As our friend was munching on his snack packs of Doritos and enjoying a Pepsi while people were going into hunger panics around him they'd probably leave him alone and brave the half foot of glass to loot the little markets that dot downtown Los Angeles.

If his white coworkers hit the jackpot and found some boxes of Good N Plenty and a few bags of Corn Nuts in a small Wilshire market the media would say they 'found' the foodstuffs. If his black coworkers found the identical items and had their first food in a week well then, you know they'd be branded as 'looters'.

Glad I could complete the doomsday scenario.

And yes, you're right on that we need stores placed strategically in every major city prone to earthquakes. In San Francisco, if the bridges were down and 101 snarled for miles there's simply no way out of the city unless you're a really, really good swimmer. Most of the choppers and ships will be taking out wounded and if there's a food crisis and everything was already looted, watch out for really bad stuff to happen. But I guess it's more important to spend our tax dollars on multiple wars that'll never end.

[tkmorris]

8. I see your point

I do believe that a personal preparation kit for whatever natural, or even unnatural, disasters might befall you is a good idea and will see you through the initial few days afterwards if you prepared properly. After that desperation will begin to set in and it would be better for all if community preparedness of the sort you suggest kicked in.

The problem of course is funding. Programs such as this, of the sort that are there just in case they are needed, are doomed to take a back seat to programs that are needed right now. Short-sighted thinking is human nature.

[eShirl]

17. "What we need is massive storage of survival stuffs in central areas around the city."

Don't/didn't they do that in all the fallout shelters? (Do they still maintain fallout shelters since the Soviet Union broke up?)

[Mountainman]

18. There was no food in the fall out shelters. That was a lot of silly thinking.

The fall out shelters were basements and tunnels and subways. As if radiation couldn't get in there.

If you weren't killed in the blast you would be killed soon after and there would be no safe food or water to drink.

You want to nuke someone or get nuked? It's tragic how the wing nuts throw those ideas around. There is something call a nuclear half life. I forget what it is but the islands that were used for the nuclear tests in the 50's are still contaminated.

[liberal N proud]

9. Think about this for a minute

Hurricanes have days of warning, people who live in hurricane zones keep hurricane kits, they can get to those supplies before they have to evacuate.

Tornado's happen with a days wanning of the possibility but happen with only minutes notice, 30 minutes tops. People in tornado zones have safe spaces to retreat to, basements, rooms with block walls etc. Some may have supplies in those spaces, most do not.

Earthquakes happen with absolutely no notice, the earth just suddenly shifts. Moreover, the only safe place in an earthquake is out in the open away from building and other structures.

If you had an earthquake kit, what are the odds that you would be were the kit is when the quake happened?
When it does happen and the space where you stored your earthquake kit was damaged, do you think they will let you go get it?

The whole concept of being prepared in an earthquake is ridiculous

[Auggie]

10. It wouldn't hurt to try.

There will be more damage to utility services than to structures anyhow.

[Lebam in LA]

11. Not everyone will be prevented from getting to their kits

When the Northridge quake happened, even though I had little damage, I had no power for a couple of day so food and water were important. So there will be those who cannot utilize their kits, but many will.

[liberal N proud]

12. Suppose that is true

That is the part overlooked when thinking about these disasters, those who were not directly effected but are collaterally effected by infrastructure.

We all know we can't rely on our government to come to our aid.

[Selatius]

16. At least not any Republican government in power.

If somebody like FDR were in office when Katrina happened, none of that bullshit would have happened, and I am pretty willing to bet the death toll would not have been as high as it was with Bush.

[Kajsa]

13. I have three emergency kits-

one for every human in the family.

I've got the large and medium size pet taxis close by
in case we need to round up the kitties.

[Beregond2]

14. I've lived in

western WA most of my life, and I've never even heard of an earthquake kit. I suppose something like that would be useful if you were in the downtown of a big city at the time, but I really don't get the point otherwise.