It's too much work

Because

1) When you get ready for 'the big one' quake you also get ready for many other certain-to-happen-at-some-point events.

2) Problems are so much easier to deal with in the dark when you have a working flashlight you can find immediately and everyone else in the household has one, too.

3) A small fire can be better dealt with if you have the right kind of smoke alarm, which will let you know about it in time to put it out with your home-sized fire extinguisher.

4) The dog/cat doesn't know to move away from the bookcase and it will break your heart if they (or a human visitor) get injured in a moderate earthquake.

5) If you have a family plan you don't have to worry every time you are away from home and there is a little quake or just a big truck moving in the street nearby that makes you think the big one might be starting.

6) If you have thought through everything you really need to do, the whole project can seem overwhelming or just too expensive. But if you start with something small and work your way along you really will make progress. Overwhelmed by the amount of things to do to prepare for a disaster?

Try: Fast, easy, cheap earthquake preparedness for the first to do.

7) You really don't want to be at the store begging for the owner to open up and sell you some batteries, a few diapers and some formula.

8) The kids (or even you??) won't lose sleep when you see commercials or news broadcasts or ... that could make you worry, just because you know you are prepared.

9) Knowing you are ready for emergencies can give you confidence in non-emergencies.

10) When a quake/house fire/... really does happen it won't be so frightening for you or your family.

11) When a chemical tanker truck overturns on a nearby roadway and the authorities say to stay at home you'll be more comfortable.

When a chemical tanker truck overturns on a nearby roadway and the authorities say to evacuate your family will have a preplanned meeting place near home and a little farther from home.

12) When a big fire starts in your townhouse or apartment complex everyone may try to drive away at once.

Wouldn't it be faster if everyone had made it a habit to back into their parking spaces or carports?

Who's going to get them motivated to do so? The local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members. (That could include you.)

13) The media reported during the December 2002 storms that our (Bay Area of California) local energy suppliers might be the worst in the country for getting repairs done.

14) It takes so much less time to put latches and railings on cabinets in advance than to clean up after the quake dumps everything on the floor.

15) There is a significant chance that your home is not attached to its foundation, so at least go under and look. If your home was built before 1935 - or- in some areas, before 1960 -or- IF the contractor didn't care enough to do a good job (which it turns out is quite frequent!) it may not be properly bolted to its foundation. Various studies have shown that even new homes may have missing or not secured foundation bolts.

16)The U.S.G.S. has estimated that there is a 62 percent probability that one or more quakes with magnitudes of at least 6.7 will strike somewhere in the Bay Area between now and 2032.

"Regardless of where earthquakes occur in the Bay Area, they will produce damaging ground motions over broad areas and substantial distances from the source."

The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2005 that "recent research hints that big quakes might attack in swarms, one after another."

17) There are types of earthquake faults that can't be detected at the surface. For example, vertical-moving "blind thrust' faults can't be identified before they break loose. You could have a fault right under your home that doesn't show on any maps.

Go to Community Emergency Response Team training for more info.

From the Red Cross: "Nationally, polls show that only about one in every 14 people have taken the necessary measures to prepare for a disaster.

Perceptions are partly to blame -- perceptions that disasters can be avoided easily and pose minimal risk to any single person. Another factor is complacency, which has several causes. Some of the complacency toward earthquakes stems from the fact that California is prone to temblors, and over time most residents become indifferent to warnings about them. In addition, many people believe that some level of risk is unavoidable, so they feel less motivated to prepare for unexpected emergencies."