Earthquake Preparedness

Earthquakes are a natural disaster that can cause a massive amount of property damage and casualties. They are very difficult to predict and can result in further dangers, such as aftershocks, floods, landslides, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Worse of all, the damages caused by an earthquake can be far and wide within a given area and can take years to build back up to the way it way before. Earthquakes are not preventable and are a natural characteristic of earth. The only protection mankind has for earthquakes is having earthquake preparedness. This basically means taking proper earthquake safety measures to minimize damage, injury, and death tolls.

Earthquake Preparedness Programs:
Many areas that are prone to earthquakes have already enacted many earthquake preparedness programs to raise awareness about earthquake safety. Earthquake preparedness is a component of the emergency management system, and usually involves the use of earthquake simulations to give a better idea about what should be and should not be done during an earthquake. Earthquake preparedness also involves looking at past events to determine what was done wrong and what could be done differently to minimize the negative effects during prior disasters.

Earthquake Preparedness in Buildings:
Earthquake preparedness does not just involve public awareness, but it also is used in structural improvements. Modern buildings are currently designed with earthquake safety measures to ensure that they are resistant to collapse and massive damage in the event of an earthquake. Also, currently-existing buildings are retrofitted with earthquake resistant features to protect them.

Earthquake-prone states have strict guidelines that have specific requirements that buildings must have in their design. If an older building does not have proper structural and design components that are up to earthquake safety guidelines, they can be modified so be safer. State laws require older government buildings to be retrofitted. Many highways, elevated freeways and bridges are also designed to meet earthquake safety guidelines. When a building is considered to be “earthquake resistant”, it does not mean that the building will suffer zero damage in the event of an earthquake. The goal of earthquake resistance is to minimize damage to the extent that as many human lives as possible would be saved.

Personal Earthquake Preparedness:
If a person lives in an area that is prone to earthquakes, they are usually encouraged by government officials to own an earthquake kit and have it available at all times in their home. The kit should also be large enough to hold supplies for three days. History shows that three days is the amount of time it takes for emergency rescue teams to reach a status of “full strength”. A person may be trapped under rubble for a long time and it may take awhile for emergency crews to reach you.

Another practice that is useful is to move heavy objects from high shelves to lower shelves. Also, bookshelves and other loose furniture can be secured so that they cannot topple over. All of these practices can minimize injuries and prevent fatal accidents from loose objects.