By: Revanche

Earthquake and disaster preparedness

October 16, 2017

I’ve written about being prepared for pet problems, considering a wide range of What Ifs and preparing for them, and financial preparedness in my In Case of Emergency series focused on getting a household in order for the worst possible scenarios. I started this post for a few reasons, but the disastrous wildfires in Santa Rosa no more than a couple hours away from us has made this even more compelling. One of our community members, DadsDollarsDebts was directly affected by the fire and had to escape with only minutes to get out, so I’m sharing this post earlier to join the Chain in hopes that we’ll motivate more people to get prepared, sooner.

This was a full to the brim month with oh, moving, and closing on our old place, and settling into the new place, and figuring out how to work everything.

Settle In mode has made me acutely aware that we aren’t prepared nearly enough for any surprise massive earthquakes, and the world around me makes me even more aware that we’re in no shape to face a major earthquake.

USGS warns us that we’re overdue and that it’s going to happen in the next 30 years: “In 2003, earthquake scientists led by the USGS estimated that there is a 62% probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the Bay Area in the next 30 years.” As a California native, I don’t even roll over in bed for anything 5 and under, but 6 and up in close proximity? I’d sweat that. Every minute that goes by without being sufficiently prepared to last 3-7 days on our own is another minute developing my very own micro-ulcer. I know that it’s not likely to hit tomorrow but Mexico was just rocked by two very large quakes and that reality does nothing for my sensibilities.

Action is the only thing that helps, of course, so I’ve started working on our emergency plan with our friends in the region, updated Seamus’s microchip information, started a spreadsheet with our emergency supplies and a rotation schedule, bought our first batch of food supplies from Costco because they were on sale.

Still to buy: updated tags for Seamus with our new address, 28 gallons of water (7 days of water for the 4 of us), more lightweight, high-calorie, non-perishable food items, flashlights and backup batteries, a generator ($$$$), fuel for the generator. If I can’t unearth adequate medical and first aid supplies from our packing detritus, I’ll have to resupply those as well.

We need enough supplies for sheltering in place (with every hope that we’re able to safely do so here in our own home), and a portable version of the supplies if we have to evacuate. We’ll need large jugs of water and the more portable water packets for bottles.  I already keep extra medication for myself and Seamus on hand but I’m going to need to make up a go bag with those medications prefilled in case we have to get out quickly.

A satellite phone was tempting until I saw the cost – from $200 to $700 for the phone, and monthly fees on top of that. As much as I want to ensure that PiC and I will absolutely be able to find each other if a quake hits when we’re separated, that’s a really steep cost for something that might not even be in arm’s reach in the event. Plus, PiC has a terrible habit of forgetting things in weird places. We don’t fight often but I’m pretty sure we’d get in a big fight if he lost THIS phone. Scratch the sat phone for now. I’d considered walkie talkies but those seem to work best when you’re on a flat landscape.

A fire extinguisher at home, and maybe in the car, are also a good idea. Fires are a concern after earthquakes because of broken gas lines, and that’s why I’m looking at ways to heat up food that don’t involve an open flame. Food in the form of bars do in a pinch but I’d like to eat real food if we’re stranded for more than a few days.

A 5-minute bag. Much of my plans assumed we had as much as an hour to get out the door because when an earthquake hits, you just sit and deal until it’s over, THEN you creep out.  But fire can easily follow, as mentioned above. In that case, as many victims of the Santa Rosa fires experienced, sometimes you have less than ten minutes. I’m pulling together an essentials roller board suitcase with two changes of clothes for each of us, diapers and wipes for JB, a blanket for Seamus, some food and water for all, a first aid kit, our birth certificates, passports, credit cards, cash, and checkbooks, and the hard drive where I backed up all our photos and documents. I try to update that hard drive every couple of months but I’ve fallen behind due to the move. Time to get back on the ball.

Insurance coverage. This may seem like an afterthought but that’s only because it’s the first thing I took care of when we made an offer on the new place – I asked for quotes for both homeowner’s insurance and earthquake insurance through CEA. The latter is critical because losing your home to a quake is not covered under the normal homeowner’s policy. I’ve heard people who seem otherwise financially smart question the need for this rider and to that I’ll always say: do what you want, but we live in CALIFORNIA, home of the earthquake, I have no intention of being homeless AND on the hook for the remainder of my mortgage. We also have warranties on all our appliances and those will be stored online and in the hard drive as well.

Edited to add – gas up! This has been a really important change to our lives that I forgot to mention it because it’s been rather seamless, but thanks to Stacking Pennies for reminding me! Whenever our cars hit the  half tank mark, I always take it over to Costco and fill up on gas. Because if a natural disaster strikes and we’re fortunate enough to be able to evacuate, having a quarter tank of gas would not get us very far.

:: Do you know what your insurance covers? What natural disasters are a problem in your area? What do you do to prepare? Have I missed anything?

Other posts in the chain from the community:

Anchor: DadsDollarsDebt – Tubb’s Fire – A Sudden Evacuation
Anchor Two: Chief Mom Officer – A Harrowing Escape Inspires The Personal Finance Community – Beyond The Emergency Fund
1: OthalaFehu – Cool As A Cucumber
2: The Retirement Manifesto – Am I A Prepper?
3: Mrs. Retire to Roots – In Case Of Emergency Follow The Plan
4: The Lady In Black – Emergency Preparedness
5: The Green Swan – Preparing For The Worst
6: Minafi – Minimal Hurricane Preparation
7: A Gai Shan Life – Earthquake and disaster preparedness
8: The Financial Journeyman – Emergency Preparation: Be Proactive
9: John And Jane Doe – Thinking the Worst: Emergency Planning or Fighting the Last War?
10: Adventure Rich – Emergency Preparation Up North
11: Money Beagle – How Much Would You Replace If You Lost Everything?
12: Crispy Doc – Fighting Fire With FI/RE
13: She Picks Up Pennies – How Can A Planner Be Unprepared?
14: Chronicles Of A Father-Getting Ready for a Natural Disaster

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