Disaster planning

This plan is comprehensive but not complete; each household will have unique and even unanticipated issues that will need to be addressed as part of planning. As we say in Community Emergency Response Team training: adapt, improvise, overcome.

Also, some items in this plan may not be applicable to a given household.

You need to think through your disaster plan from the point of view of many potential problems. A spill of hazardous materials near your home could mean instant evacuation, but you might have more time in case of a wildfire. Meet with family/roomates and discuss possible disasters such as fire, severe weather or earthquakes; make evacuation plans, plan for pets, put together basic supplies.

Step number one:

Do not run outside during a quake:

Practice DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON. During the quake, drop under a sturdy desk or table, hold on, and protect your eyes by covering your face with your arm. If there’s no table or desk nearby, sit on the floor against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you.

Teach children to DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON.

DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees and power lines.

If you are in a car, slow down, maybe even stop if the rest of the traffic is doing so, drive to a clear place, and stay in the car until the shaking stops.

If you are at the beach and feel a quake big enough to make you have trouble standing up, or a strong quake that lasts 20 seconds or more, a tsunami with waves 10, 20 or even 100 feet high is coming within minutes and you must go to higher ground right away. You do not have time to pick up the picnic/towels/ swim gear or move your car. Grab friends/family and start running. Be carefull to avoid downed power lines and buildings that might be coming down in aftershocks. You might be able to go back for your car after the tsunami if it is small or if it does not materialize, but you risk your life if you try to get your car moved right after the quake.

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Step number two:

Designate an out of the area, long distance phone contact that family members can check in with to tell where and how they are. Then everyone can check in with this person and get updates on everyone else instead of the whole world calling you. You could have another contact for coworkers, your cycling club or rugby team. (After an earthquake, almost all local phone lines, including cellular, will be jammed within minutes and people who need 911 help will not be able to get through!!)

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Step number three:

Prepare a list of family members' health info: allergies, medications (and dosage, times taken, other details regarding specifications of administration/regime; e.g. insulin), medical conditions, immunization dates, social security numbers. You might want to include family members not in residence with you that you are caretaking to some degree.

Fill out one of these for each family member and keep one copy at home and a copy with you (maybe in the glove compartment?): emergency information form

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These first three steps should be taken right away, then start choosing from what to do among rest of these:

Evacuations:

Pick two places to meet:

1) right outside the house in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire. Would the front yard be safer/faster to get to or the backyard? You should actually practice evacuating your home. You should include the pets in this practice.

2) outside your neighborhood, in case you can't return home. Make plans for where kids will wait, where you will reunite, after a quake or disaster if it hits when you are not at home. When a chemical tanker truck overturns on a nearby roadway, for example, and the authorities say to evacuate, your family should have a preplanned meeting place near home and another a little farther from home. A nearby city park would have restrooms. If you planned with your neighbors you could all pick the same place.

Plan several escape routes from the neighborhood by foot, bike and car.

Does your city/county have a specific evacuation plan? When hurricanes are coming some places turn both directions on a highway into one way traffic.

Walk through house and decide where to find earthquake "cover" in each room, how (and when) to exit (two ways to exit each room, best way and second best). Practice each of these.

BRING WITH YOU WHEN YOU EVACUATE:

Have the essential items (including prescriptions, spare hearing aids, spare glasses, radio, flashlights, batteries, etc. and a few family photos) in an easy-to-grab, easy-to-carry container(s). Don't forget the credit cards and extra set of car keys.

You may want to include important family documents or copies of documents that are/and or are not in your safe deposit box in such a (waterproof and fireproof?) container, such as will/living trust and letter of instructions, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds, passports, social security cards, immunization records, bank account numbers, credit card account numbers and companies (and phone numbers to cancel), inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone numbers, list of family physicians, the style and serial number of medical devices such as pacemakers, family records (birth, marriage, death certificates), vehicle, boats, etc. make, identification and license numbers, and some cash in small bills.

And copies of the emergency information form you filled out.

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It might not be easy to get home from work- plan with your family that you might not get home that day. Have alternate routes planned based on possible flooding, freeway collapse. Listen to the radio for awhile before you take off.

You can find detailed maps (with zoom in capability) of potential road closures, risk of liqufaction and flooding, such as this map of potential Bay Area road closures after a San Andreas fault 7.2 quake,

at: http://resilience.abag.ca.gov/earthquakes

If a local dam is full of water and it fails, where will it flood?

http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/damfail.html

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Expect aftershocks. There is a 20% chance of an equal or larger quake within a few hours.

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In your car: first aid kit and manual, battery-powered radio, flashlight and extra batteries, local maps in case the evacuation route is unfamiliar to you, booster cables, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, flares, bottled water and non-perishable high energy foods such as granola bars, raisins (replace these as you snack on them).

Keep at least 1/4 tank of fuel in your car at all times.

If a power line falls on your car during a quake or storm, stay inside until a trained person removes the wire. The power company will know the line is down. If one falls in the street, stay away from it. Consider it to be a live wire even if you see no sparks or arcing.

During any power outage, earthquake or not, according to the City Of Campbell, California:

"When traffic signal lights are out, motorists must exercise greater care when approaching intersections. The California Vehicle Code outlines the responsibilities of motorists and pedestrians under these conditions:

Motorists must stop at the entrance to the intersection and may proceed with caution when it is safe. Drivers intending to turn left must first yield the right of way to oncoming traffic.

Drivers traveling upon a roadway that terminates at the intersection must yield the right of way to vehicles traveling upon the roadway that continues through the intersection.

Drivers stopping at the intersection at the same time as another motorist to the right or left must yield the right of way to a motorist on his or her immediate right.

Motorists must yield the right of way to pedestrians proceeding in a crosswalk.

Even though pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right of way, they are not relieved of the duty to care for their own safety. Pedestrians may not walk or run into the path of a nearby vehicle, nor unnecessarily stop or delay traffic."

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Public transit commuters:

Familiarize yourself with all the exits at the stations that you use in case you ever have to take a different exit.

Keep a local map with you in case you need to walk or take another form of transportation.

While commuting, carry a small flashlight, dust mask and a pair of protective gloves.

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At work you'll want flashlight, work gloves and walking shoes; as well as supplies to move to a shelter, including toothbrush, snacks, some water, personal first aid kit.

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Put the number of each phone on the phone;

post emergency numbers next to each phone, including 911 or other fire, police, ambulance, medical (doctor, Kaiser advice line, dentist) animal control, poison control (299-5112), power company, family (Mom, Dad, older siblings) work numbers, nearest relative, local contact, out-of-state contact, and...

Post another list next to the phone at work.

At both phones post emergency numbers, and address/description of cross streets for people not living with you that you have some responsibility for. Know their preferred medical providers, health insurance carrier and individual and group numbers, medication(s) and where they are (gamma globulin in freezer, insulin in refrigerator?). Try a pay phone if home service is disrupted as the two systems are often on separate circuits. Do you know where the nearest pay phones are?

When you call 911 from a land line telephone, such as in your house, you get dispatch for the city the phone (your house) is located in. When you call 911 from a cell phone you get the Highway Patrol at a central location. Sometimes, especially if you are not calling about something on the freeway/highway, it would be faster to get dispatch for the specific city the problem is happening in. This requires knowing the direct dial seven digit phone number for each dispatch.

Direct dial emergency phone numbers for most cities in Santa Clara County, California, can be found at the Santa Clara County ARES/RACES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services) website.

http://www.scc-ares-races.org/SCCoEmergencyNumbers.pdf

San Mateo County cities (and the San Francisco airport) direct dial phone numbers can be found at:

http://www.blackberryreact.org/smco911phones.html

Or you can find the seven digit direct dial numbers in the blue government pages of the Pacific Bell white pages book. Make a 'sticker' for the back of your cell phone with the numbers for your city and anyplace you jog, recreate, work, visit relatives, etc. (or program the numbers into the phone).

Federal Communications Commission wireless 911 service: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/wireless911srvc.html

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Teach kids:when to call 911 (including if someone falls or gets seriously hurt or has trouble breathing); how to call 911 (if you get no dial tone, wait for one; hanging up will further delay your call. Quickly state the emergency, answer all questions and stay on the line until instructed otherwise by emergency personnel);

what to do when they hear the smoke detector, fire alarms, burglar alarm or local community warning alarms such as horns or sirens;

how to make long-distance phone calls, and

how to turn on the wind-up or battery powered radio for emergency information (mark the location of the emergency station on the dial).

Kids should also know when and when not to answer the door or phone, and know not to give their name to strangers or tell them that they are home alone. Many safety experts recommend: use a ruse to let a caller think an adult is home, such as "my dad can't come to the phone right now. Can I take a message?" Teach children to always answer the door, but not to open it for strangers.

Instruct children to talk through the door when strangers are present. Pretend a parent is home "My mom can't come to the door right now. Come back later." Don't open the door for deliveries. Tell delivery people to leave the item outside or drop it off with a neighbor. If you have a cordless phone, have your child bring it to the door, in case someone tries to get inside. Have a through-the-door viewer at kids' eye level or wheelchair eye level as well as standing adults'.

Take the kids to:

FEMA for kids, with lots of fun learning tools

http://www.fema.gov/kids/

There is lots more about kids at: Helping Children Cope With Disaster

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Teach each responsible family member how and when to turn off gas, electricity and water. The PG&E guide with lots of pictures, on how and when to turn off your gas is at:

http://www.pge.com/en/mybusiness/edusafety/gaselectric/turngasoff/index.page

You might want to print a copy of it.

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Keep up your needed vaccinations. A tetanus inoculation, for example, is good for about ten years. (During spring 2001 flooding in the Midwest, raw sewage in the flood waters coincided with a national shortage of tetanus vaccine.)

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Invest in the more expensive smoke alarms with I (ionization) and P (photoelectric) on the box, which will detect smoke faster than the cheaper models.

Be sure the kids know that when they need a battery for a game, etc., they never take the batteries out of smoke alarms!

Replace smoke alarms every ten years as they become less sensitive over time. This is a joint recommendation of the National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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During any power outage: (According to the Red Cross):

Use only a flashlight, never a candle

Turn off electrical equipment you were using when the power went out

Do not open the refrigerator or freezer. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold for a couple of hours at least. A freezer that is half full will hold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer 48 hours. (perishable foods should not be held above 40 degrees for more than two hours. If a power outage is 2 hours or less you need not be concerned.

Eat perishable foods from the fridge first, then foods from the freezer. In a well filled (even if it's just filled with bottles of water), well insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centers (meaning foods are safe to eat) for at least three days. You can minimize the number of times you need to open the freezer if you keep a list of contents posted on it.

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Never use an elevator after a quake! If you are in one, hit all floor buttons and get out at the first one it stops at.

During any power outage, earthquake or not, according to the City Of Campbell, California:

"If you are stuck in an elevator, stay calm and don't panic. Most elevators have phones that connect directly to building maintenance, security or an elevator company. Do not open the doors to crawl out between floors or climb on the roof of the elevator. Wait for emergency staff that will use proper rescue procedures. Once you get out of the elevator, do not get back on until the power has been fully restored. In many high rise buildings, elevators return to the first floor during a power outage and stay there. Elevators generally run on back up power to bring people on the upper floors to the lobby."

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In case of fire: (after an earthquake- or during a wildfire- or general precautions).

Buy a fire extinguisher that will put out chemical and electrical fires as well as paper and wood (ABC type). Get training from the fire department or manufacturer for all responsible family members. You'll want one in the kitchen, the garage, each floor of the house and any high risk areas and one in each car.

http://www.fireextinguisher.com/ has rules for fighting fires, types of fire extinguishers, how to use them and more

You can put out a small fire at your stove by putting the lid on a pan or by using baking soda, but don't use flour - it explodes. If it really is a little fire, try these easier to clean up methods before you use the fire extinguisher.

Have the chimney and woodstove interior regularly cleaned of soot buildup by a professional.

Store weed killers, pesticides, spray paints and flammable products away from heat sources, in a shed or other ventilated location, away from the base of buildings. Store hazardous materials in unbreakable containers away from sources of ignition. Store oily polishing rags or waste in covered metal cans, in a safe location.

Check electrical outlets; do not overload them. Fix frayed extension cords, exposed wires or loose plugs. Consider installing home sprinklers.

Secure all gas appliances to a wall STUD and use flexible gas lines.

Regularly clean roof and gutters, and dispose of newspapers and rubbish. Design and landscape especially your hillside home with wildfire safety in mind. Consider installing protective shutters or heavy fire-resistant drapes.

Contact the fire department about the extent of space (a 10-30-100 foot zone) around your home to clear of combustible vegetation, stacked firewood, space around propane tanks and barbeque, etc.

Keep a whistle in each bedroom to awaken household members in case of fire. Have a collapsible ladder on each upper floor of your house, possibly in each bedroom. Install a smoke detector at least on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms, if not in each bedroom.

Keep a ladder that will reach the roof (but don't leave it out for burglars to gain entrance to upper floors). Keep handy household items that can be used as fire tools: a rake, axe, handsaw or chainsaw, bucket and shovel. Have a garden hose long enough to reach any structure on your property.

Teach family members to never open doors that are hot. In a fire, feel the bottom of the door with the palm of your hand. If it is hot, do not open the door. Find another way out. Teach them to stay low to the ground when escaping from a fire. Try a practice of escaping from a home fire by crawling out of a bedroom, down the hall and to an exit, for example, with eyes closed to see how well you could really find your way.

Avoid smoking in bed and use deep, sturdy ashtrays.

Take the

How safe is your home from fire? quiz at:

Home Fire Safety Checklist

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MORE supplies, not just for after the earthquake, but for power failures (also see: Disaster Supplies Store water for after an earthquake ).

A flashlight under each family member's pillow (get all the same size - one that fits in your pocket is useful - and then you only need one size of batteries).

If you use a portable heating device make sure it is approved for indoor use. Never use charcoal inside.

Candles can fall over in an aftershock and start a fire. Your fireplace might not be safe after the quake, so no fires for warmth.

It's never a good idea to use an oven or the dryer to heat a room.

Since almost every way of heating space in your home will either be unavailable, dangerous or inefficient, prepare for the aftermath of a winter power outage by preparing for cold weather camping. Get warm longjohns (top and bottom) for everyone in polypropylene (capaline), silk, or wool - NOT COTTON. No percentage of cotton, it absorbs sweat and holds it next to your skin. For snow camping I start with a layer of silk longjohns, then one of polypropylene, then add a fleece top and pants. On top I wear a hooded rain jacket and pants. At night outside the raingear is replaced with a ski jacket or parka and a knit hat. I also use polypropylene sock liners and glove liners. If you buy them, you'll find that the longjohns won't be a waste of money, you'll use them for mild weather camping, evening football games, or just to hold down on heating bills. There's more at Snow or rain camp must-haves.

Sturdy shoes by the side of the bed to put on before you go running around the house and cut your feet on broken glass.

Work gloves to clean up afterwards, sized for each member of the family.

Adjustable pipe wrench to turn off gas and water only if you need to. Don't attempt to turn gas back on yourself or relight the gas pilot yourself- wait for the gas company. If you hear reports of broken water or sewage lines, you'll want to shut off the incoming water valve to keep contaminated water from coming into your house. Older bolts on the gas line can be too corroded to move. Test yours in advance by trying to turn it no more than 1/8 of a turn. If you can't call your utility company for an inspection.

A crowbar under the bed - in case your house shifts enough that the bedroom door sticks shut. Possibly a crowbar at work as well.

You have a manual can opener somewhere, don't you?

Keep at least 1/4 tank of fuel in your car at all times. IF you try to store gasoline, store it in a UL listed and approved vapor tight container - not around the gas water heater. According to the Central Fire District, as of Sept. 2000, the law says you must have a fire code permit if you store more than five gallons indoors. And you can't store more than 60 gallons in a residential area.

If you are considering using a generator, get advice from a licensed professional, such as an electrician. Make sure the generator is listed with Underwriter's Laboratories or a similar organization. Do not connect a generator to a home electrical system. Connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets at the generator.

Some things should not be stored near each other in your home, in case they spill and mix during a quake: hazardous household chemical mixtures.

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Reconsider buying a gas mask for emergencies. According to a Good Housekeeping article: "They're a waste of money, experts say. You would have to wear the gas mask constantly to be safe. Gas masks also need to be fitted by an expert and the filter inside might not block all toxic agents." The article goes on to say "Stockpiling drugs in case of bioterrorism is a guessing game. No antibiotic can protect against all bugs. Use only if a doctor prescribes them."

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Safeguard or at least photograph personal possessions with emotional importance such as photographs, family heirlooms, baby books, or other items that can't be replaced.

Be sure to include one or two items that your child is especially proud of.

In case you don't have the time to pack them in an evacuation, give some thought in advance to what you will bring.

Select valued personal items for each family member to take if you are required to leave your home. For a child, such items may include a favorite toy, blanket or other item that the child uses as a source of comfort when upset.

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A videotape of your home is recommended for possible insurance claims (you'll need appraisals for the expensive items as well as a tape). Put a copy in your safe deposit box. You can rent a video camera if you can't borrow one. It's hard to play it back to see something specific if the item has only a few seconds of footage, so tape slowly. Tape to be able to prove what you owned if it is all destroyed, and tape for fun, to look at years later. Tape the house exterior and interior. Tape inside of closets (hold up clothes for the camera), documents from file cabinets, pictures the kids drew, trophies (and a close-up of the dates), serial numbers from appliances, pieces of jewelry, backsides of paintings if they have info on them.

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Have your vacation slide shows put onto tape, and/or make copies of the favorite slides and prints and put them in the safe deposit box. People who were torn from their homes in the Oakland fire and other emergencies said they grabbed the wrong things as the firestorm approached and they ran from their homes. Preserve your memories now.

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Go over your disaster plan with the babysitter and fill out a Babysitter Consent and Contact Form.

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Rethink your evacuation kit and emergency plans every six months, or when places of employment or residence change, or when kids move to a different school.

Quiz your kids (have a fire, emergency evacuation and earthquake drill, a "drill" of how they can stop their own bleeding, and an answering the phone/door drill) every six months so they remember what to do. Do a 'duck, cover and hold on' drill in various rooms. Teach them to do the same in crowded public places and then wait a little and watch so that they don't get trampled. Become familiar with their school's earthquake plan.

Also test and recharge fire extinguishers according to manufacturer's specs, test smoke detectors monthly and change batteries at least once a year

Update the emergency information form you filled out.

Mark a day planner or calendar in advance for these.

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see also:

Earthquake and pets advice Consider having the vet 'microchip' your pets, and more... Wouldn't it be easier to transport your cat in a real carrier s/he is used to than in a pillowcase?

Earthquake information sources is a page of links to most often needed how-to-do-it information from PG&E, City of San Leandro, Association of Bay Area Governments, Los Angeles Fire Department, USGS, Red Cross, and the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration. This page inlcudes a link to detailed maps (with zoom in capability) of potential road closures, risk of liqufaction and flooding (including if a local dam fails during a quake).

Emergency managers warn us: "YOYO96...You're on your own for 96 hours. With preparation you can get through it... if you have thought through everything you can be prepared..."

Preparation is the key to preventing injuries.

earthquake home hazards survey