Earthquake Preparedness Tips
Do you know what to do to protect yourself during an earthquake?
During Emergency Preparedness Week in May 2010, an earthquake preparedness tip was featured in the Times Colonist and posted below and on the City's Facebook page.
More Tips
Below are some of the helpful tips that members of the community submitted to a 2010 Emergency Preparedness Week contest.
- Always keep a flashlight near your bed.
- Do not hang anything above your bed (e.g., pictures, book shelves, plants, etc.).
- Keep a card with all important phone numbers in your wallet or purse.
- Make sure you have at least one phone at home that does not require electricity to function.
- Keep a pair of sturdy, closed toed shoes under your bed in case you need to leave suddenly. This will protect your feet from broken glass.
- Arrange an out of area contact person. Each family member would call this person following an earthquake and receive news on how the others are doing.
- Arrange a family meeting place that is separate from the family home. Use this location if the family home is not accessible.
- Identify hazards in your home. Educate family members that some objects (e.g., windows, book cases, kitchen cupboards) are not good places to be near in an earthquake.
- Tie a wrench to the gas meter. Turn off gas only if there is the smell of gas, if there is a fire, or if someone in authority tells you to turn it off.
- Buy a four-litre bottle of water with each pay cheque; keep doing this until there is enough bottled water in the home for each person. Four litres of water per person per day; seven days recommended. This helps stretch out the purchases over time.
