First Steps After an Earthquake
Prepare before an earthquake and get your neighbors and co-workers on board too.
This program is designed to help organize neighborhoods before an earthquake hits. If communities respond quickly after an earthquake more lives can be saved.
1. Get others to help: See if there are any other neighbors who are interested in helping out. If you have a Neighborhood Watch, see if some of those members are interested as this program is a safety issue.
2. Define the area: 15-20 houses is a reasonable sized area to organize. If you have a large block, ex. 50 houses, then consider breaking it into two or three smaller groups.
3. Make a map of your neighborhood: Go onto Google Maps and make a map of your neighborhood. Here is an explanation on how to create a map of your neighborhood. Each neighbor will receive a copy of this map. Our map included:
a. House numbers
b. Reference numbers. Start at 1 and go up to the number of houses on your map, ex. 1 -20.
c. Xs to indicate where the gas meters are located.
d. Directions for teams. Glue the map on this paper. Specify which areas the search and rescue team(s) will cover. Also update the radio channels to reflect your designated emergency stations. These are for the San Francisco Bay Area.
4. Collect Neighbors' Information AND educate as you go:
If you have a Neighborhood Watch, then hopefully you already have a list of neighbors' contact information. Regardless, using this form will help because it correlate the map to the residents. It also helps you identify which household has members with special needs, such as elders, disabled or young children.
As you go from household to household, go with the:
a. Neighborhood Contact form;
b. Emergency shutoff wrench; and
c. Google map of your area. Before visiting neighbors, have all of the houses numbered, 1 - ?. As you go add the house numbers. I recommend printing out more than one copy since you'll be sketching on the map and marking gas meters. You will probably want a better copy when you go to make photocopies for your neighbors.
6. Finalize map with Gas meters marked. Print out.
7. Have a neighborhood meeting to discuss the plan. 1.5 hours is a good amount of time.
1. Get others to help: See if there are any other neighbors who are interested in helping out. If you have a Neighborhood Watch, see if some of those members are interested as this program is a safety issue.
2. Define the area: 15-20 houses is a reasonable sized area to organize. If you have a large block, ex. 50 houses, then consider breaking it into two or three smaller groups.
3. Make a map of your neighborhood: Go onto Google Maps and make a map of your neighborhood. Here is an explanation on how to create a map of your neighborhood. Each neighbor will receive a copy of this map. Our map included:
a. House numbers
b. Reference numbers. Start at 1 and go up to the number of houses on your map, ex. 1 -20.
c. Xs to indicate where the gas meters are located.
d. Directions for teams. Glue the map on this paper. Specify which areas the search and rescue team(s) will cover. Also update the radio channels to reflect your designated emergency stations. These are for the San Francisco Bay Area.
4. Collect Neighbors' Information AND educate as you go:
If you have a Neighborhood Watch, then hopefully you already have a list of neighbors' contact information. Regardless, using this form will help because it correlate the map to the residents. It also helps you identify which household has members with special needs, such as elders, disabled or young children.
As you go from household to household, go with the:
a. Neighborhood Contact form;
b. Emergency shutoff wrench; and
c. Google map of your area. Before visiting neighbors, have all of the houses numbered, 1 - ?. As you go add the house numbers. I recommend printing out more than one copy since you'll be sketching on the map and marking gas meters. You will probably want a better copy when you go to make photocopies for your neighbors.
- Introduce yourself and program: Introduce yourself if you don't know your neighbor. Explain that you are helping to organize the neighborhood to respond to an earthquake, and that being able to respond quickly can save lives and reduce the amount of damage to property.
- Utilities shut off: Ask them if they know where their gas shut off is located, and if they know how and when to turn it off. Many people think you always turn gas off after an earthquake. Explain that you only turn it off if you smell it (smells like rotting eggs), see it (dials are spinning much quicker than normal - so they need to see what normal looks like) or if they hear a hissing sound. Go out and show them what "on" looks like and what "off" looks like. Also help them to find where the water main enters their house (not the curbside main) and inform them that after a major earthquake that the water should be turned off in order to keep the household lines clean.
- Explain the map: Show them the map of the neighborhood. Add their gas shut off with an X on the map. Explain that everyone will get a map of the neighborhood because we want to quickly check for gas leaks and turn off any leaking units.
- Get contact information: Put their information on the Neighborhood Contact form. Some people don't want to share their information, which is fine, but it is helpful to know how many occupants are in a household and if they have any special needs or pets.
6. Finalize map with Gas meters marked. Print out.
7. Have a neighborhood meeting to discuss the plan. 1.5 hours is a good amount of time.
