Emergency Preparedness E-Bulletin
Date: Fri, Jan 22nd, 2010 9:21:01 pm
Author: Bill Burton
With the recent catastrophe in Haiti we here in VEMA have had several inquiries about earthquake preparedness. The most common questions are:
1. What do I do during the shaking?
The simple answer here in BC is: Drop, Cover, Hold. What does it mean?
Drop: As soon as you realize an earthquake is happening, drop to the ground in as controlled a way as you can. Earthquakes can throw you to the ground, so the sooner you get to the ground the more likely you will be able to remain in control of your actions.
Cover: Look for an object to help protect your body. Tables, chairs and desks all make good shields from falling objects. All sorts of things can move around an injure you during and immediately after the shaking, so protect yourself from these items by covering.
Hold: Hold onto the object so it does not move away from you. Keep covered until after the shaking has stopped and then stay put for 60 seconds. This allows any objects that were set in motion by the shaking to stop moving.
Some people have asked about an alternative set of options. Here are a few websites to help you make up your mind if you are thinking that the alternate method is what you want to do.
PEP (we advocate this method)
http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Drop_Cover_Hold.pdf
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_of_Life
American Red Cross Response:
http://www2.bpaonline.org/Emergencyprep/arc-on-doug-copp.html
In BC we recommend Drop, Cover, Hold.
2. Where do I buy an emergency preparedness kit?
Most first aid supply stores, some general purpose hardware stores, and some pharmacies sell kits. You can create your own quite easily. For ideas on how to do that visit these pages:
Recipe for Disaster:
http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/vema-recipe.shtml
All Hazards Workbook
http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/pdfs/departments_vepnei_ind_allhazards.pdf
Do you have an emergency preparedness question? Send it in and we will do our best to answer it.
Robert Johns
Emergency Coordinator
Victoria Emergency Management Agency
1234 Yates St.
Victoria, B.C. V8V 3M8
250-920-3355 (voice) 250-920-3370 (Fax)
rjohns@victoria.ca
http://preparevictoria.ca
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