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| Earthquakes happen. |
Last year in September one of my grandsons and I began a conversation. It began after we had experienced a series of small earthquakes that had occurred overnight within a 100-mile radius of us. We live on the California Delta, 45 miles North East of San Francisco, it is an isolated semi-rural area. It is one of those places people are surprised to exist in the Bay Area, we are as far East as a Bay Area resident can be. Once in a while, we go into the "City", my grandsons and grand-daughters venture in much more frequently than I do. The question was "what would you do if you were on Fishermans Wharf and a major shaker took place."
He answered with a logical reply "I'd get out of town as fast as I could."
"Yep," I said, "you and about 870,000 other people, not including tourist."
There are three ways out of the Bay City, and all of those people would be heading right for one of them. * The Bay Bridge, *The Golden Gate Bridge, * Highway One through South San Francisco. They are all a parking lot during a normal work week, I can not imagine what it would be like during a major catastrophic event. There is a fourth way out, by water, the bay leads to an extensive delta system, the largest on the West Coast. It takes about 4 hours to get from the Golden Gate to where our house is on the Delta, most big boats travel at 12-20 knots.
He said he would walk out over the Bay Bridge, where to? Oakland? That may very well be the only way out depending upon where in town a person is. The first 3,000 or so vehicles to traverse the crossing may make it, all it would take is one breakdown to stop movement. The bridge would be jammed solid, then people would leave their cars, or trucks and start walking. It would be a long 50-mile walk to our spot on the river.
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| This may be another way out. |
Highway One South would be easier to walk, but it would also be stopped after the first accident, or breakdown, which would almost certainly occur. It would be a long walk as well, we have relatives in the Central Valley, but it's 300 miles to Fresno where he would be heading.
The Golden Gate would be equally crowded and equally jammed up following the first wreck or flat tire. In that direction to head East, a person would also have to go across the Richmond-San Pablo Bridge. A guy would have more luck with that one because most of the cars would be backed up at the San Francisco Icon.
To be clear we were talking about the "Big One", at least the magnitude of the 1906 major event which was a 7.8. It ruptured the 300 northernmost miles of the San Andreas Fault, which runs from Northern California to Mexico through L.A. and the Southern Desert. The last Big one was 102 years ago, the next one is unpredictable, but we are not in the clear as it could take place in the next second, the next century or next week. We just simply need to be prepared for it, which 30% of us are, 30% want to be but for various reasons are not. The remaining 30% just do not see the warnings as a threat. Continuing our conversation I suggested to him there are two things which he should be certain to have covered before he heads to the City.
#1 Part of our plan includes an out of the area contact number, my brother in Minnesota. We have put together an Earthquake evacuation plan, each member of the family has a copy. We have a constant stream of visitors to our home, grandkids most commonly. It is important to include a contact number, equally important is to use an out of area contact. As far as a quake is concerned that person could be as close as Fresno, 300 miles away, it would take a massive event to affect the entire state. The length of the message could be "I'm fine and in Madera." for instance. The reason for an out of area contact is the cell phone frequencies will most certainly be extremely busy, that's what we will get, a busy signal. Thinking of my reaction when I connect to a busy signal, I hang up and immediately recall. During a disaster there would be a lot of people doing just that, adding to the congestion of the airwaves, my prediction is that getting through will not happen. On the other end of the call, our contact will take messages to relay to the other people calling.
#2 Carry water with him I advised, two pints at least, no one wants to or will carry a gallon around while on a brief visit to spend an afternoon. After getting in a clear zone, or an evacuation station, obtain more drinking water I told him he has a long walk. It is recommended we each drink 1/2 gallon of water per day, depending on the ambient temperature more may be needed. To exit a disaster area after an earthquake food is not as important as water, we can survive 8-10 days without food, 3-4 without water. One gallon of water weighs just under 9 pounds, it will get lighter the further a person travels. If it is a widespread event food and water would be increasingly more scarce, so fill the jug with water at every opportunity. People he would come across may not have water, that is the reason to keep a good quantity on his person, it would be tough to refuse water to a thirsty walker. The average walking speed is 3 miles per hour, it would take 20 hours to walk from the City to our island. He would have to find a place to spend the night in the vast urban jungle that is the Bay Area, it is a huge area. The San Andreas fault is much larger, however.
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| It may a rough walk through this for 50 miles. |
During a short visit to the city for a day or attending one of the many sporting events or shows occurring there every week the possibility of a major earthquake is always present. I have seen the San Andreas fault in the North well into and past Plam Springs then extending as far South as Puerto Vallarta, it's long, powerful and active. That's just one fault, many others are running in every direction when visiting the city for a day are there any other precautions we should take?
I'm not sure how much sense it would be to take a large earthquake emergency kit into the city for the day. It may be prudent to take it along on the trip if the person is driving to fisherman's wharf or the Giants game as an example, leaving it in the car, if one was driven would be the best choice. Bart is the transportation of choice when traveling there for a game or show. An earthquake emergency preparedness kit when loaded with jackets and extra clothing can become amazingly heavy and awkward. Unless a kit is in a trunk or some sort of a handy wheeled carrier, the emergency preparedness kit should be left in the trunk or at home, it is more convenient to put together a smaller one. Call it the "escape kit", water, a flashlight, a jacket, and hat, along with something to eat, it can fit in a small messenger bag making it easy to attend to. The "escape kit" can be used at home as well, sometimes for example in the chance a wildfire erupts, a person has minimal time to escape. Having to walk several or many miles to get to a muster or relief station, a light kit will make the walk easier.
Suffering an earthquake during a brief visit to the city would be considered a rare occurrence, it does happen, however. We remember the Loma Prieta earthquake 6.9 magnitudes, on October 17, 1989, felt from San Francisco to Monterey, making communication important. There is no way to know which fault has slipped, it could be disastrous to escape in the wrong direction. Does a shaker happen often enough for us to be overly concerned about it? No, not overly, but a healthy concern is warranted and to have a small escape kit on your belt may be prudent. Water is an absolute, above and beyond all else we must have water.
(Follow this Link for Ready.gov water recommendations.)
I don't expect any of my grandkids to be stranded in the city after an earthquake, however, it does happen. I was taught CPR at one place of employment, a large portion of the crew was in attendance. The office manager, a lady, was in attendance and contrary to most of the attendees had never been instructed on how to perform CPR before this time. That evening she had a tennis lesson during which a person at another court collapsed and stopped breathing, she administered CPR and mouth to mouth saving the person's life, it happened within 4 hours of taking the class. It happens more often than we realize, I can think of at least 3 other incidences of me explaining something or learning something then within hours of having to use it. So these emergency response conversations are important to have, especially when centered around your earthquake emergency plan, it should be a separate document attached to your main emergency plan. (It sounds like a lot of paperwork but it's not) Both plans should have spelled out what actions to take whether we are home alone or away from the house (as our example of being in San Francisco.) People are more likely to buy into the preparations if they are included in creating the emergency documents, all members of the family must know the plan and understand it perfectly, the preferred way is to make sure all family members have input into both plans. Practice the plans, go over them verbally and physically, where are the evacuation kits, who takes what, who's responsible for the dog or grandma? All of it is important, as well as spelling out what to do if an earthquake strands you in a big city.
It's well worth creating a document, (Link to FEMA's in-depth guide to family preparedness) a small emergency pack, and a means of communication to carry along on a day trip. Making it a generic kit will make it more versatile, just make sure everything in it is actually items needed for survival. Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, pass it on and share it then follow me on G+, Thanks again.
jacquesandkate Emergencykitsplus.com
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