101 years
it’s a hundred-and-one years since the 1906 earthquake that burnt down much of san francisco, killed around 3,600 people, and left more than half of the city’s then-population homeless.
there’s a 67% chance that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or higher will hit this city between 1990 and 2020. that’s not a small chance.
i remember the nisqually earthquake in 2001; i was in choir, and nobody knew what to do. that was the scariest part for me – not the shaking or the danger, but that nobody knew how to respond.
so, i’m taking part in a local neighborhood emergency response team (nert) training series. i’ve only had one class, but i’ve learned a lot – partially through their training manual, which is the second link here. nert’s premise is that, because emergency services will probably be tied up for the first few days after a major disaster, people should have the skills that they need to support themselves and their families and neighborhoods.
this is especially important because i live in one of the neighborhoods of san francisco that would probably be ignored like the ninth ward of new orleans.
the point of this post, is that i’m all in favor of emergency preparedness. it’s part of my crazy, a little, but i think that this is a good aspect of it i want everybody i know to work hard to educate themselves – i don’t want my loved ones to die in stupid coincidences or accidents.
i’m trying to figure out a way to anchor our heavy shelves to our walls, but we’re not allowed to make holes in the walls. do any of you have advice around this?
what other emergency preparedness thoughts do you have? what are your disaster experiences, if you want to talk about them?
