Avian Flu Diary: Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

# 5200

In just over 23 days from now, the state of Oregon will hold their first Great Oregon ShakeOut; a statewide earthquake disaster drill. It will run concurrently with the their cross border neighbor’s Great British Columbia ShakeOut.

Essentially, at the same time it is happening in British Columbia:

At 10:15 a.m. on January 26, 2011,* thousands of Oregonians will "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" in The Great Oregon ShakeOut, the largest earthquake drill in Oregon history!

Register now to participate and be counted.

All of this is based on the highly successful Great California ShakeOut (see The Great California Shakeout) model, which this past October saw more than 7 million participants.

Later this Spring, 8 mid-west states will hold their very first Great Central U.S. ShakeOut at 10:15am on April 28th.

As California has been doing this for several years, public awareness and participation is very high. Since this is the first year for the Oregon, BC, and Central U.S. versions, the number of people signed up so far is considerably lower – but will hopefully expand over the next few years as these events are publicized.

While we tend to think that truly disastrous earthquakes only happen in other countries, the reality is, the United States and Canada are vulnerable to rare, but devastating seismic activity as well.

Here is a snapshot of recent seismic activity in the Continental U.S. over the past week. More than 626 small quakes were recorded (not including micro-quakes of magnitudes less than 1).

As you can see, while California and Alaska saw the bulk of the activity, the Pacific Northwest, some western states, and the Central U.S., both saw some seismic activity.

And earthquakes are not unheard of in New England, the Great Lake States, or even in the deep South. The USGS map below shows that most of the United State’s population lives in a seismically active region.

Earthquakes, like Hurricanes, Tornados, Floods, and yes . . . even pandemics . . . are hazards everyone should be aware of, and prepared to deal with. A prime focus of this blog has always been preparedness.

Everyone should have a disaster plan. Everyone should have a good first aid kit, a `bug-out bag’, and sufficient emergency supplies to last a bare minimum of 72 hours.

A few of my essays on home preparedness include:

In An Emergency, Who Has Your Back?

Inside My Bug Out Bag

Those Who Forget Their History . . .

The Gift Of Preparedness

Red Cross Unveils `Do More Than Cross Your Fingers’ Campaign

As far as what to do DURING an earthquake, I’ll let the folks at ShakeOut.org explain (and no, it isn’t stand under a doorway):

Drop, Cover, and Hold On!

Federal, state, and local emergency management experts and other official preparedness organizations all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is the appropriate action to reduce injury and death during earthquakes. The ShakeOut is our opportunity to practice how to protect ourselves during earthquakes. This page explains what to do-- and what not to do.

(Continue . . . )