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I thought this would be a good topic to talk about, seeing as there has been a lot more seismic activity here in recent week’s. If you live in California or pretty much the whole western seaboard, you have to be aware of the fault line’s in the area. The most talked about one is the San Andreas fault line. But, it is not the only one, The Hayward fault in the Bay Area and the Newport – Inglewood and San Jacinto faults in southern California are two of these smaller faults that pose as great a threat as the San Andreas. Remember, there are Earthquake’s that happen daily and anywhere in the world, so I’m going to tell you how to prepare your home for an earthquake.
How you can find out more about fault lines and Earthquake’s in your area
The best way that I have found that you can find out about fault line’s in your area there you can look at an interactive map that will show you the different fault line’s throughout the USA. If you’re interested in finding out about earthquake’s in your area, you can go to https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ from there you can click on “Search Earthquake Catalog” and then you can choose your area with the custom button under the Geographic Region column.
What kind of damage can come from an Earthquake
When the ground start’s to shake, it can cause land or mud slide’s, it can rupture underground utility pipe’s and system’s. The big threat would depend on where you’re at when it hit’s, if you’re outside in an open field, you are pretty safe, but if you’re inside your house or building, it could cause things to fall off of the wall’s or knock over dresser’s or anything that is not secured. If it is a big earthquake, it could cause structural damage to your foundation or house.
Steps to prepare your home for an Earthquake
You should look into getting Earthquake insurance, if you determine that you live in an area that has a history of Earthquake’s. But when getting insurance, you will need to find out if it cover’s man made Earthquake’s or just natural Earthquake’s. In my state, the amount of Earthquake’s have rose over the last few year’s. Folk’s have found out after the fact that their insurance will not cover the damage, because they determined it as man made. In area’s that do a lot of Fracking, they consider it to be man made Earthquake’s.
You would want to make sure your house is Earthquake proof, in California, when you buy a home, the seller is required to disclose whether or not the house has any Earthquake strengthening measure’s in place. Other states don’t require anything like that. So if you live elsewhere, you would want to take a look at the base of the house on the foundation, look to see if it is bolted or anchored down with the foundation. You can get the stuff to do it yourself, or you can find a contractor in your area that can do it for you.
Staying safe when it hit’s
When an Earthquake strike’s, you should get under the nearest table to wait it out, if one is available, if you’re out and about, there may not be one, but if you’re at home and in the kitchen, try to get under the table to avoid falling object’s. If you’re in bed when it happens, roll over on your stomach and cover your head and neck with a pillow. You should not try to run out of a building while it’s shaking, the outside’s of the building could break off and come down on you.
Next week I will be talking about flu season prevention tips, I’ve heard many report’s that the flu is horrible this year, causing fatalities in many area’s, I’ve never worried about the flu until I had a child. I want to make sure you have the information that you need in order to keep you and your family safe this flu season.