April is Earthquake Preparedness Month, not just for California but for the entire Nation, and Prepare we should today!

  We're back to a normal April, rain, and the wind has started again right on schedule. Normally the wind blows in the Delta from April 1st, (give or take a few days) through September then it is intermittent from November thru March. The month's of fall, October, November and most of December are the nicest months of the year, and the least crowded with visitors. It's terrible fishing during those month's as well, I don't know where the fish go, I figure they head for the deep parts of the river, where ever they go they are not biting here. The rancher does not use this pasture during the rainy season, the pond overflows with rainwater and it can cause the livestock to suffer serious complications from their hooves being wet all of the time. So the Geese, Swans, and Ducks take over the joint, and man they are not bashful about it, they even intimidate little old Skunkpuppy, my guardian and standard pain in the neck. But this blog is about a totally different subject, as usual, I start with a completely unrelated paragraph then launch into the main topic.

Excuse me, sir? Have you seen where all the fish have gone?

The rain is nice, everything will be green for a while, then it will turn golden once again and the wildfires return. For now, it's comforting to see the horses and Cattle in the pastures grazing on the fresh green grasses, it attracts the water birds as well. I made a video of Canadian Honkers, Swans, and Mallards in one of the pastures across the road. (Link to my video)
  April is "Earthquake Preparedness Month." If you have ever taken the time to search the query "National recognition Month", each month has a very extensive list. There are specially recognized, Days, Weeks, and Months, the best way I have found to find which month covers which event, I query it. "Which month is National Earthquake Preparedness Month?", I spelled out to make sure I was correct before I started writing. Sure enough, it is the month of April, now "National Preparedness Month", is the Month of September, I can write on it also when September arrives. There is a lot of information on the internet dealing with preparing for an Earthquake, something every person in the Western United States is well aware of. We had the Loma Prieta that took place on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 pm, it was recorded as a 6.9 in magnitude. in comparison the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a 7.9 magnitude, each magnitude is 33 times larger than the one before it. For example, the 7.9 of 1906 was 33 times more powerful than the Loma Prieta of 1989. One interesting fact is that they occurred 12 hours apart, the San Francisco Earthquake occurred at 5:12 am. It's too bad that statistic doesn't mean a thing, as most statistics about Earthquakes don't as related to being able to predict them. Prediction is getting better every year, part of the problem is that not unlike the stock market, past performance does not predict future activity. The scientists that have chosen this for their lives work definitely have their collective hands full, they collect a mountain of data every day. I sometimes wonder what its like to work in a field knowing that at any second a major quake may occur smashing all recorded history and making your lives work mute. That's science, build a hypothesis work on proving it and then submitting a paper for peer review and hear criticisms and praises from your colleagues and partners. For me to do that would be a nerve-wracking

Damage in downtown San Francisco after the Loma Prieta quake

experience, but I suspect it's tougher on Earthquake scientists due to when they make a prediction. A prediction must be made in a timely matter to allow people time to get to a secure location, if the prediction is correct they are a hero. A prediction must be accurate, to announce an earthquake alert and then have it not take place would not be earth-shaking (pun intended) event for the scientist, it would be disheartening for sure. I wouldn't even classify that as a mistake, they need to be commended for having the fortitude to go public with it, it is a learning experience. Sure the public will have a lot of fun joking about predicting earthquakes, and that is the exact point, the scientist takes that risk and accepts it. Every time they make a prediction they get just a little bit better at it, they learn from the data and make use of that knowledge next time. I commend them for predicting, one day they will save many lives, in fact, they most likely are now. The accuracy of predicting Earthquakes is not up to par yet, however, there are things we can do pro-actively to satisfy this month's recognition of Earthquake Preparedness, I've made a list of 6 items we can tackle.
  1) Make a family plan, Ready.gov has a template available at this Link.

  2) Before an Earthquake safely secure any appliances, that can tumble, fall, or move. Include televisions, mirrors, light fixtures, hot water heaters, and bookcases. Move beds away from windows, and anything hanging over cribs, beds, couches, and anywhere else an item is capable of falling and causing harm they must be secured.

  3) Plan and practice drop to the ground, cover your head and neck with your arms then as soon as possible get to a secure spot when flying debris is no longer a threat, crawl, crouch, run, or walk. Take a look at your environment and choose the path of least resistance, be cautious of fire, gas leaks, electrical wires, and flooding compartments.

  4) Have a kit set up by an exit, either a commercially prepared kit, or one you prepared yourself, there are a lot of publications explaining what is needed in one. At a very minimum always keep water stored, enough to supply each family member 1/2 gallon of drinking water a day. An Earthquake kit needs a three day supply for each family member. (Here is a Link to my website featuring an Earthquake preparedness kit)

  5) Communications, make sure every family member is able to stay in contact with one another, however, to ensure success designate a contact number out of the area. The reason is that immediately after an Earthquake occurs everyone will be on their Cell phone, the lines will be totally jammed up. What do we do when we get a busy signal? If you are like me, I hang up and re-dial, a bad choice in an emergency it will merely jam up the lines worse. We have designated my brother in Minnesota as the contact, many states away, the idea is to call the number as soon as the shaking has stopped, then call every few hours to check in if possible. That initial contact is the most important.

  6)  Pets panic, the ones that runoff from fear, unfortunately, most of the time do not return, Cats normally stick around hiding, dogs head for the hills and don't stop until they get there. One precaution we can take is to have in our planning package which each family member should have a copy of, a photo of the family and the pets. It needs to be a well-defined picture, each person's face easily distinguishable, and the animal needs to be the focal point. People will recognize your pet when it is next to a picture of you, otherwise, they will most likely even forget what color the animal is. It takes two images, one of you and one of your pet for most people to recognize the animal.

The dog says "OK, you have to come with me now" the Cat replied
"I don't think so." 

  There is plenty of other precautions that we can take as well and a good source is at this (Link) All along the West Coast from Alaska to California, we are constantly reminded that the "big one" can occur at a moments notice, our entire world may be turned upside down by morning. It's a mistake to think they are confined to the West, however, it is prudent to remember that a very strong Earthquake took place in New Madrid Missouri in 1811-1812, 7.9 magnitudes with 7.4 aftershocks, and it, in fact, changed the course of the Mississippi River. Also, large faults lie beneath New York City, and Yellowstone National Park, it is thought the only immune places are those where the bedrock is exposed on the surface. Northern Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin and Canada directly North of them are such places, still, for me, I would prepare for an Earthquake where ever I live, a survival kit is pretty versatile and can be adapted to work in most disaster events, I suggest have one kit customized for every event that may occur, but do yourself a favor and make it for 7 days versus 3. It may not be needed for the full 7 days but if you do it will be there and this will make it possible to help other people, which is part of my planning. I plan to be so well planned and equipped that it enables me to be a responder versus a "victim", I never want to be a refugee, I'm sure I share that thought with most people.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, stay alert and keep water, flashlights, cell phones charged, and your gas tank at least half full. You might consider keeping a re-chargeable charger at the ready as well, we may need it in the next few seconds. Thank you again, please share my blog.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com