Earthquake preparedness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Earthquake preparedness refers to a variety of measures designed to help individuals, businesses, and local and state governments in earthquake prone areas to prepare for significant earthquakes. Preparedness measures are part of the emergency management cycle, and can be refined through the use of a good Earthquake scenario.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

Earthquake preparedness measures can be divided into:

[edit] Building design and retrofitting

Main article: Seismic retrofit

In the United States, buildings codes in earthquake prone states currently often have specific requirements designed to increase new buildings' resistance to earthquakes. Older buildings and homes that are not up to code may be retrofitted to increase their resistance. Such retrofitting is often required for older commercial and governmental buildings under state laws. Retrofitting and earthquake resistant design are also employed in elevated freeways and bridges. Current buildings code is not designed to make buildings earthquake proof in the sense of them suffering zero damage. The goal of most building designs is to reduce earthquake damage to a building such that it protects the lives of occupants and thus tolerance of some limited damage is accepted and considered a necessary tradeoff [1]. Earthquake retrofitting techniques and modern building codes are designed to prevent total destruction of buildings for earthquakes of no greater than 8.5 on the Richter Scale [2].

[edit] Personal preparedness

Homeowners, renters, and businesses in earthquake territory are encouraged by governments to have an earthquake kit available with enough supplies for three days. From experience, this is considered the amount of time it takes for emergency services to reach full strength. Such emergency kits are also useful in other natural hazards. State and federal governments publish earthquake preparedness booklets. [3]. Below is list of commonly recommended items for an emergency earthquake kit:

  • Water and food to last at least three days
  • Water purification tablets/portable water filter
  • Heavy-duty gloves
  • A first-aid kit
  • A minimum of $100 in cash
  • Family photos and descriptions (to aid emergency personnel in finding missing people)
  • A flashlight and portable (or solar-powered) radio
  • Extra batteries
  • Goggles and dust mask
  • A personal commode with sanitary bags

[edit] See also


[edit] External links

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