JulianConstruction.com: The Great California Shakeout Emergency Drill Oct 15

By Shawn Kyles

Unfortunately you can’t schedule the next earthquake, or where you will happen to be when it happens. Given the large percentage of time spent at home, the odds are that you will be in or around your home when the next one arrives.

But, you can prepare so that in the event of an earthquake, your family and your home will be protected.

That’s the point of the Great California Shakeout earthquake preparedness drill approaching on October 15.

The purpose of the ShakeOut is to help people and organizations get better prepared for major earthquakes, and practice on how to protect ourselves when one happens, whether you are at work, school, or home.

You can find out more about the ShakeOut and sign up to participate at http://www.shakeout.org. 5.2 million people have signed up to participate so far.

The ShakeOut Drill is scheduled for 10:15 AM on October 15, 2009. This means that wherever you are at that moment—at home, at work, at school, anywhere—you should Drop, Cover, and Hold On as if there were a major earthquake occurring at that very moment, and stay in this position for at least 60 seconds.

Drop: That means drop to the floor wherever you are.

Cover: Then take cover by getting under a sturdy desk or table.

Hold On: Then hold on to something sturdy until the shaking stops.

There will be no freeway closures, power outages, or other simulated effects of the hypothetical earthquake on October 15.

The ShakeOut is something where participating at work is encouraged. Businesses, organizations, schools, and government agencies can register and have their employees practice the Drop, Cover, and Hold On drill.

Foundation Inspection

Another thing you should do to prepare for a major earthquake is to get the foundation of your home inspected. In many cases homes are not properly secured to the foundation, which means that they can move off the foundation or slightly off the foundation during an earthquake.

If there is a problem with your house not being properly secured to your foundation, the cost will likely be a lot less to fix before an earthquake than after one. So I recommend taking the step of getting a foundation inspection done today. Then if there are no problems, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that. And if there are problems, you can take the steps to correct them.

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