The new booklet addresses one of the main reasons for the high casualties in the south Asia disaster—simple ignorance of the dangers. It is based on the latest scientific, engineering and sociological research, is written in easy-to-read prose and thoroughly illustrated to make its points clear. The full title is _Living on Shaky Ground: How to Survive Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Northern California_. It contains tips and information on how to get ready, what to do when disaster strikes and the steps to take to hasten recovery.
The updated version will be distributed as an insert in 38 newspapers in 14 counties, beginning Dec. 6. It also will be given to all students in Humboldt and Del Norte County public schools and made available by many county offices of emergency services, tribes and rancherias, Redwood National and State Parks and the American Red Cross. The Trinity and Colusa County Offices of Education also will have copies.
CEO Glenn Pomeroy of the California Earthquake Authority, which funded the handbook’s development, said his agency is committed to helping California residents recover from damaging earthquakes. “Residents throughout northern California will benefit from this important resource that local members of the California Earthquake Country Alliance worked together to produce,” he said.
Added Jim Goltz, Director of the Earthquake and Tsunami Program for the California Emergency Management Agency, another organization that financed the booklet, “Surviving earthquakes and tsunamis, reducing damage, and quickly restoring the economy are not matters of chance; they depend on personal and community readiness.”
“One of the most important aspects of this publication is the opportunity it provides to generate discussion, culminating in action,” said HSU Geology Chair Lori Dengler, who led the handbook’s preparation. “One of the main things to come out of sociological research is that, before people act, they need to talk things through. It’s a process sociologists call ‘milling,’” Dengler explained. “People are more likely to store food and water, secure their bookshelves, recognize natural warnings of a tsunami and write up a family preparedness plan if they have talked about it with others. So ‘Living on Shaky Ground’ is intended not just to instruct, but to engender discussion and stimulate action. When you’re ready ahead of time, you greatly increase your chances of saving yourself and your family, reducing your losses and helping your community recover faster.”
The booklet zeroes in on basics, including seven easily-remembered tips first introduced in the Southern California and Bay Area publications, “Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country.” The first four sum up how to get ready: identify household (or workplace) hazards in advance (objects likely to topple or fall), learn if you live in a tsunami hazard zone, draw up a preparedness plan and discuss it with family members (say, a shared list of important phone numbers), organize disaster kits (food, water, emergency backpacks) and pinpoint weaknesses (shore up brick chimneys, anchor wood stoves).
Tip five spells out actions to take during an earthquake: indoors, drop, cover, hold (drop to the floor, take cover under a study piece of furniture, hold on to it, slide with it and maintain position until the shaking stops). Outdoors, move to the clearest area and avoid trees, power lines, buildings and vehicles.
The final two steps concern what to do after the shaking stops, including evacuating and staying away from the coast until officials give the all clear. The handbook explains how to recognize the natural warning signs of a tsunami and how to evacuate tsunami hazard zones. It lists insurance options such as earthquake and flood coverage.
Dengler underscores that reliance on the government is not enough when an earthquake or a tsunami hits. “The government is there to assist afterwards, but the definition of a disaster is that normal emergency services are completely overwhelmed,” she said. “The only way you’re going to get immediate help is to be prepared yourself. This is a personal, a neighborhood and a community responsibility.”
Northern California has a long earthquake history. All areas of the region are at risk of large earthquakes that have the capacity to damage buildings, upend roads and utilities and disrupt business. Since 1900, 24 earthquakes have caused damage in the region, an average recurrence of less than five years. Coastal Northern California is also vulnerable to tsunamis generated by large earthquakes both nearby and elsewhere in the Pacific basin.
Additional copies of the booklet may be requested through the Humboldt Earthquake Education Center at Humboldt State University at 707/826-6019 or rctwg@shakyground.edu. The electronic version and supplemental material can be downloaded at www.humboldt.edu/shakyground.
HSU’s Humboldt Earthquake Education Center, which distributes educational materials like “Living on Shaky Ground” to schools, the press and the public, is a non-profit unit established in 1985 within HSU’s Department of Geology. The center operates the Humboldt Earthquake Hotline (707/826-6020), a recorded message updated daily about local, regional and worldwide earthquake activity. The center also coordinates regional and state-wide earthquake and tsunami preparedness efforts through its participation with the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group and the Earthquake Country Alliance, which sponsored the recent “Great California ShakeOut,” the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history.
The booklet was overseen by an advisory board representing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, California Geological Survey (CGS), Department of the Interior United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service, Redwood National and State Parks, the California Department of Water Resources, American Red Cross, Yurok tribe, Trinidad Rancheria, with contributions from many members of the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group. The publication is one part of California’s earthquake and tsunami readiness effort. On December 14, the California Emergency Management Agency and California Geological Survey will unveil new tsunami hazard maps for the state.
Readiness exercises include the annual “Great California ShakeOut” drill and the March “Live Code” tsunami warning drill.