Earthquake realistic preps and situations?

[Alexx1401]

In the event of a natural disaster, a person would need to be prepared for the onslaught of "neighbors" that would be coming to your place looking for help. They'll eat your food, drink your water and take anything that they think will be useful. They'll justify it by thinking it's him or me. That being said, I believe in trying to help folks without "giving away the store." You would need to be able to make tough decisions based on helping you and your family first and foremost.

As with the grasshopper and the ant. Only in that story the ant is never armed. For me? NO ONE is coming to take anything I do not want to give away. The people who store up food but leave no way to protect themselves? Well I often say to those who tell me they "would never have a gun in their home", great, the bad people have to eat too. Those who look to pillage go for the low hanging fruit.

 

[The Heretic]

Be prepared for fires caused by flammables, especially natural gas lines and broken tanks (the very large ones). If it is summer to fall, then there may be wildfires caused by other fires and downed power lines, not to mention humans cooking outside.

I just picked up a couple of wrecking bars, one 48" long. I am also starting to stock up on nails and screws, and I picked up a circular saw. I think both my house (manufactured, with a steel frame and sitting on a concrete pad) and my 2K SF shop would be mostly intact, although the house is a triple wide and might develop gaps/cracks in the joints.

My main fear is wildfire during summer/fall.

If I stay here another year or more I need to setup a transfer switch to power my well pump - I learned it is separate from the house power; it is at the power meter and the power line for the well pump runs from the meter to the well, by passing the house junction box.

 

[Foreverlost]

A couple thoughts:

The toilet paper issue demonstrates how well the public is prepared, NOT.
Check out Hazvu ArcGIS Web Application
Oregon has their **%3# year Resilience Plan. Just a plan on paper, no money to implement.
A while back I checked out ODOT's website. Typed in the word "earthquake" into the search feature. Tons of pdfs to read, not good news. Overpasses on I-5 not built to any seismic standard, etc.
Each county in Orygun must have an Emergency Manager & Plan. More reading material, but somewhat useful.

Bottom line: Plenty of ammo, food, fuel, medicine, water, etc., to weather the storm. No one else will save your butt.

Foreverlost,

 

[jdub75]

consider taking a CERT class thru your local city/county if they offer one. Many of the ideas posted here are very sound ones, and include a lot of the CERT info (minus the opsec part-CERT leaves that completely out). CERT also gives you tools to help your neighbors and help make your neighborhood safer from fires after the fact. I was taking the class when Christchurch happened, and one of our instructors had friends IN THAT CITY vacationing. They sent him an email about a week after the event. It still gives me chills to think back on their description of liquefaction (they were in a park at the time) and they thought of being somewhere with NOTHING afterwards. They relied on strangers to take them in until they could leave NZ.

 

[jdub75]

oh and to piggyback on what someone said about supplies taking a few days to reach western OR-that is NOT accurate. The CERT class pointed out how many bridges we have in W Oregon, the average age, and how many we had just in our town. 1 bridge out will stop supplies for some time until the Army can erect temps. So its choppers til then-but they'd only drop at specific locations, that thousands will flood to.

 

[oldcorpgunny]

Be prepared for fires caused by flammables, especially natural gas lines and broken tanks (the very large ones). If it is summer to fall, then there may be wildfires caused by other fires and downed power lines, not to mention humans cooking outside.

I just picked up a couple of wrecking bars, one 48" long. I am also starting to stock up on nails and screws, and I picked up a circular saw. I think both my house (manufactured, with a steel frame and sitting on a concrete pad) and my 2K SF shop would be mostly intact, although the house is a triple wide and might develop gaps/cracks in the joints.

My main fear is wildfire during summer/fall.

If I stay here another year or more I need to setup a transfer switch to power my well pump - I learned it is separate from the house power; it is at the power meter and the power line for the well pump runs from the meter to the well, by passing the house junction box.

Gppd thinking and planning.

 

[Retired Guy]

oh and to piggyback on what someone said about supplies taking a few days to reach western OR-that is NOT accurate. The CERT class pointed out how many bridges we have in W Oregon, the average age, and how many we had just in our town. 1 bridge out will stop supplies for some time until the Army can erect temps. So its choppers til then-but they'd only drop at specific locations, that thousands will flood to.

When supplies start to land will depend greatly on how well the airports and ports survive. But just like in Katrina and Puerto Rico, the supplies were landing but no means to distribute to the masses.

The initial supplies will be used by rescue workers to create their own support system/base camp. We don't want to fly rescue workers in only to have them starve or get sick. A very small trickle of supplies will make it out to the local masses. Helicopters are great for search & rescue and the inevitable VIP tours, but very limited for supplies. Generally not worth the fuel expenditure for what little supplies it can carry.

Again, this is all "spit-balling" speculation until something happens and the severity is determined.

 

[The Heretic]

Fortunately, the west coast has a number of ports that can accommodate freighters (not just Portland, Seattle, etc., but Newport, and Coos Bay also) so I would expect supplies to come in not just by air, and in larger quantities.

Granted, getting supplies from those ports out to where they are needed would be a difficult problem.

 

[P7M13]

It would be the pinnacle of irony if the earthquake were to happen NOW. Everything is backwards.
Normal disaster:

1. Earthquake
2. Fires
3. Looting
4. Disease / Pestilence

This Summer :

1. Disease / Plandemic
2. Looting / rioting
3. Fires
4. Earthquake?
5. Yellowstone blowing her top?
6. Poles reversing?

 

[CountryGent]

For those interested in the topic, I put together a book review on the topic a couple years back: Cascadia Event Book Review and Resource Guide

Cheers.

 

[Bushman]

Basically everything mentioned so far falls in line with the list of issues in my OP. The one thing I don't have a good solution for is how to deal with my cats living in my back yard....They freak out just being put in a crate going to the vet or if the door is opened.

 

[oldcorpgunny]

Fortunately, the west coast has a number of ports that can accommodate freighters (not just Portland, Seattle, etc., but Newport, and Coos Bay also) so I would expect supplies to come in not just by air, and in larger quantities.

Granted, getting supplies from those ports out to where they are needed would be a difficult problem.

If the Megler bridge collapsed, then that would end any hope of supplies coming in via ships.

 

[jdub75]

Basically everything mentioned so far falls in line with the list of issues in my OP. The one thing I don't have a good solution for is how to deal with my cats living in my back yard....They freak out just being put in a crate going to the vet or if the door is opened.

Uh, that's pArt of your meal solution if it's really bad!

 

[Bob D]

Fortunately, the west coast has a number of ports that can accommodate freighters (not just Portland, Seattle, etc., but Newport, and Coos Bay also) so I would expect supplies to come in not just by air, and in larger quantities.

Granted, getting supplies from those ports out to where they are needed would be a difficult problem.

In this earthquake event, tsunami activity is guaranteed to at least disrupt those ports. There will likely be a considerable amount of debris in those ports. I'm not sure how long it would take to clear one for deep-sea freighters. Also very questionable what passes through the coast and cascade ranges would be navigable.

 

[Retired Guy]

If the Megler bridge collapsed, then that would end any hope of supplies coming in via ships.

Very true. The other questions will be whether the cranes are still functioning and when will the trained personnel be there to operate them. When will that crane operator/truck driver/longshoreman show up for work? Most will stay at home to make sure their families are taken care of before heading to work.

 

[Tacos4me]

Aside from what many of you have listed - food,water,medicines,hygiene, communication and security- I have a tool for turning off the gas valve as fires are common after earthquakes. I also keep a water meter key handy to shut water off at the meter (if there is pressure after quake). Saws for removing debris or branches.

 

[Bushman]

Aside from what many of you have listed - food,water,medicines,hygiene, communication and security- I have a tool for turning off the gas valve as fires are common after earthquakes. I also keep a water meter key handy to shut water off at the meter (if there is pressure after quake). Saws for removing debris or branches.

Yep, got those

Aside from what many of you have listed - food,water,medicines,hygiene, communication and security- I have a tool for turning off the gas valve as fires are common after earthquakes. I also keep a water meter key handy to shut water off at the meter (if there is pressure after quake). Saws for removing debris or branches.

Yep, keep those in my car.

 

[Defense Minister]

My preps for a Cascadia SZ event are similar to those above in addition to those below. For context, I live in a suburban subdivision near the rural interface in a place subject to significant flooding if the upriver dams break due to the seismic event, which I expect. My house will be dry, but the elevated neighborhood will draw countless refugees, some from a nearby trailer park.

• Noted the closest high ground near work so that I can use that as a temporary retreat while any flood waters recede
• Converted my natural gas fireplace insert to propane, and keep 100 lb. and 40 lb. cylinders onsite. Have plan to thermally isolate downstairs from upstairs
• Bought large roll of translucent HD plastic sheeting, 4 rolls of premium duct tape, and thermally reflective bubble wrap to cover windows that may break during the event. Keep extra staples for the staple gun
• Bought an Acopower 120W solar charger to keep the battery running my inverter charged. Inverter is reserved to run minimal LED lighting and the fireplace fan
• Added aquatic antibiotics to my med kit
• Discovered a handful of like-minded neighbors within a 5-minute walk of my house who are on board
• Noted where the four LEOs who live within a 5-minute walk of my house live
• Strengthened my fence gates on the sides of my house, and modified the hardware so I can easily alternate between allowing and excluding operation of the hardware from the front
• Traded my wheelbarrow for a 2-wheeled yard cart which can be more easily used to transport 5-gallon buckets of water. Bought casters which can be added to the stand portion of the cart and make it into a 4-wheeled cart
• Noted the rural homes just outside the neighborhood, many of which are likely still on wells. Plan to knock on doors and offer my generator, or fuel, in exchange for water from their well. I'm an electrician, and can help wire their well to run on generator power if needed.
• Bought a fuel siphon designed for newer vehicles with the filler hose safety device, and never let my vehicles get below 1/2 tank
• Bought a Lifestraw Mission 12L water purifier, not filter. You will need a purifier following a disaster because every water source will be contaminated with human waste following a large-scale disaster and the absence of a sanitary sewer system. Boiling requires too much fuel which needs to be reserved for cooking
• Carry a get-home bag in my truck with a sleeping pad and inflatable PFD (life jacket). I work on the other side of the river, and the pad can be used to float my pack across while I wear the PFD to keep from dying. I also keep a map in the pack with all pedestrian, railway, and vehicle bridges highlighted
• Established contacts in the medical field should my family or I need emergency care while it is otherwise unavailable
• Verified the shortest route home on foot which is different than the route I drive each day
• Keep myself physically fit. At 50, I'm doomed if I don't!
• Since my wife has no interest in learning how to use my dual-band ham radios, I took a photo of the radio and marked it up with notes on controls, and added post-disaster instructions so I can hopefully reach her afterward
• Prepared minimal emergency travel kits for each member of the family to take if they travel more than 30 minutes from home

One thing I still want to cover is a laundry wringer for washing clothes by hand. Hope this helps you all prepare!

 

[The Heretic]

• Carry a get-home bag in my truck with a sleeping pad and inflatable PFD (life jacket). I work on the other side of the river, and the pad can be used to float my pack across while I wear the PFD to keep from dying.

I recommend getting a dry bag that you can put your pack in. A good dry bag will help with floatation of the pack - depending on the weight of the pack.

 

[Defense Minister]

I recommend getting a dry bag that you can put your pack in. A good dry bag will help with floatation of the pack - depending on the weight of the pack.

My clothes within the pack are in a Snugpak dry sack, and the rest can get wet, but I do have a spare dry bag that would fit the pack so I think I'll throw that in the rig. Good point!