Anyone who has lived along the Wasatch Front for any length of time has heard that the Wasatch Fault is over due to make a move. We have been told for years that we need to prepare and learn how to protect ourselves if such an event were to happen. Utah’s Department of Emergency Management has scheduled a practice earthquake drill starting Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at 10:15 a.m. and continuing through Thursday noon. They are asking all citizens, schools, business, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and government agencies to participate in this event.
A web site has been set up so that a person, family, or organizations can register for the exercise. However, even if you do not register, you can be part of the exercise. To register go to www.shakeout.org/utah/. While you are there watch the You Tube video showing what could happen if the Wasatch Fault were to experience a 7.0 earthquake. You may say that you can not participate, do not have time, or do not know how. To be part of this event all you have to do is Drop, Cover, and Hold On for one minute at 10:15 a.m. on April 17. If you are not able to get to the floor, look for other ways to protect your head and upper body from falling objects. Think ahead for ways this can be done in an earthquake because it may save your life.
In preparation for this practice drill, this would be a good time to look at your home or work environment to see what changes need to be made to increase your safety. Examine furniture, items on book shelves, in cupboards, water heaters etc. The State of Utah Department of Emergency Management has created a very informative web site http://beready.utah.gov/beready/family.html to help prepare for any emergency. There are also many people in most neighborhoods that would be willing to help with a plan and in preparing for an emergency. Call David Chisholm (801-278-2172) the City’s Emergency Volunteer Coordinator for help.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO AFTER...
what you should do after the drop, cover, and hold on for one minute, You may want to locate and check your 72 hr. kit to see that it is up to date. Replace any food items that are out of date and add any missing items. This is a good time to replace flash light batteries and bottled water. Review your family emergency plan to see that it is current and then call your out of state contact. Have all family members who are not in the same location also contact the out of state contact so that you can test the communication part of the plan.
Next turn on your battery powered radio and tune into KSL 1160 or one of the other stations broadcasting emergency information. In a real disaster, these stations will be broadcasting information about the situation and what you should do. After the drill, you may want to discuss with family members what went right and what needs improvement. You may want to talk to your neighbors about the exercise and the potential for a real disaster. Make plans with them about what you can do to help each other, taking special notice of any special needs persons in your area, like disabled, elderly, young children. This also would be a good time to review your short and long term storage.
Water is one of the most critical items to sustain life. Each person requires one gallon of water per day for drinking and sanitation. Most of the time, it is impossible to store enough water for an extended period of time. Identifying sources of water that could be used and ways of purifying it will be essential to staying healthy. Food is a little more practical to store. If you are storing wheat, dry beans, oats, rice and other foods in a form that you do not use regularly, you may want to find ways to put them to use in daily food preparation so that your system will be able to process them. The more we plan and practice for an earth quake or other major disaster, the better our chances of survival.