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Earthquake preparedness thread - post your suggestions or questions

Well, as long as we're on this topic, feel free to watch "5 days at Memorial" on Apple TV about a hospital during Hurricane Katrina.

It's one of those "Worst case scenario gets even worse" kind of things.
 
If I have to pay for Apple TV, I'm not feeling too free... :D
 
I was concerned about getting my Pleasanton house sold before the Calaveras fault went off, since it was sitting right on top of it. Like most people, I didn't see the point of getting earthquake insurance. Thought I was moving somewhere that they don't have earthquakes. Within six months of moving to Idaho we had a 6.5 not too far away and we definitely felt it. :laughing

The number one natural disaster to fear around here is forest fires, but only if you live in the forest. The nearest forest area is 20 miles away. And we're doing much better this year than California and Oregon.

I still have a couple of 72-hour survival packs that we put together years ago. I haven't bothered anchoring tall furniture to the walls like we did both in Pleasanton and Folsom.
 
Yeah, we moved from San Ramon to San Leandro, one August in San Ramon had FIFTY small/medium earthquakes... :mad

So we (for other reasons) moved to San Leandro and got a house on the Hayward fault and on the direct intersection path of Lake Chabot when the dam ("rated" at 9.3) collapses. :party :rolleyes

Yeah, I've been working on emergency preparedness but I just hope that we're away from the house when the levee breaks... (insert Led Zepplin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j7oT2I8Nz8)
 
This guy over here, loves fracking, crying about small earthquakes.
 
byke said:
This guy over here, loves fracking, crying about small earthquakes.
Click to expand...

Fracking = cheaper gas, fuels, distillates, etc.

Was I crying about small earthquakes, or are you hallucinating again?

Honestly curious, I've never been able to have a serious conversation with you.
 
Best awareness is to attend CERT training (community emergency response team) https://www.fema.gov/emergency-mana...es-webinars/community-emergency-response-team from your local fire department. Very educational, highly recommend. I did twice in different counties (San Mateo and Santa Clara).

Ask your local fire dept. If they don't offer it now, they may offer in the future. Your interest may give them motivation to do it. The CERT training is for free. It comes with hands-on training, not just in-class stuff. I did radio comms, mocked disaster triage, put down fire with big-ass fire extinguisher and cribbed a car. It was a fair bit of time commitment (evening classes from 6pm to 9pm, a looot of coffee), but it was worth it.
 
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Grant $ to help pay for retrofit

GAJ said:
My August 2021 thread about my positive experience with two 1950s homes and earthquake retrofits.

https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=551513
Click to expand...

Nice thread on the retrofit.
Just to shout it out a bit more:There is grant $ to help pay for the crawl space retrofit through Earthquake Brace + Bolt. Currently $3k (additional $ for income-eligible).
Funds look to be limited so you need to register (registration opens for a limited time) and then get accepted.

I'm on a slab so don't qualify for diddly.

Info on how the program works:
https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/What-is-EBB


Sign up to get notified when registration opens (for 2022 it was Oct 18): https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/Sign-Up/signup
 
Don't build on the edge of a recently formed cliff. I know it wasn't a cliff when the houses were built, but below them is slump caused by the San Andreas Fault. Which I was standing on to get this picture. :dunno:shame
IMG_2769.JPG
 
idk said:
Best awareness is to attend CERT training (community emergency response team) https://www.fema.gov/emergency-mana...es-webinars/community-emergency-response-team from your local fire department. Very educational, highly recommend. I did twice in different counties (San Mateo and Santa Clara).

Ask your local fire dept. If they don't offer it now, they may offer in the future. Your interest may give them motivation to do it. The CERT training is for free. It comes with hands-on training, not just in-class stuff. I did radio comms, mocked disaster triage, put down fire with big-ass fire extinguisher and cribbed a car. It was a fair bit of time commitment (evening classes from 6pm to 9pm, a looot of coffee), but it was worth it.
Click to expand...
NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) in San Francisco. A good class to improve skills and to learn of the problems and limits to resources your area will face post disaster.
 
Without going political, I would imagine FEMA and the usual various levels of federal aid that would have assisted a California natural disaster in the past cannot be expected to make an appearance for at least then next few years, if they survive at all.

I state that as a wake up call to double down on your own individual preparedness, for both short term and long term survival.
 
Pro tip; Like grocery shopping when you are hungry, never ever shop survival gadgets & gear when there's recently been a major earthquake plastered all over the news.
 
I will be staying in my home or on my property. No need for a bug out bag.

I’ve got everything I need.
 
Back following the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, they said there was a 50% chance that the Bay Area would have another one within 30 years.

There has likely been some evolution of earthquake knowledge, since then.
 
I think it's more likely that there isn't actually any way to predict when a major earthquake will occur.
 
Abacinator said:
I think it's more likely that there isn't actually any way to predict when a major earthquake will occur.
Click to expand...
This.

It will happen again some day. Perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps in a hundred years. Be prepared.
 
So, maybe y'all heard of the 5.ish quake they had down in San Diego the other day.

What was novel about that was that I got an alert saying, essentially,"quake coming, take cover".

I had probably a solid 5+ seconds warning, and then a light roller came through.

They send that alert to me (Inland Empire), my friend in OC (Irvine), and in downtown LA. My friend in OC felt it as well.

It was interesting to me that I felt a 5.2 (I think) this far away, as much as I did.

The problem with the earthquake alert, being it was my first one, is that we get quakes out here all the time. Last year we went through a cluster of, like, 14 felt quakes over a couple of days. A spot several miles away was very busy with a lot of high 2s and 3s.

Of course, we didn't get any alerts for those.

So, for me, that alert was almost a "Cry wolf" kind of thing.

Mind, now that I know they're saving them for "big" quakes, perhaps I'll take them more seriously. But at the time is was "Oh, another earthquake" and just cue the restaurant scene from LA Story.
 
Earthquake and tsunami alerts are like a gun. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
 
*are like a clean functional gun with plenty of ammo* :thumbup
 
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