Los Angeles Prepares for World's Biggest Earthquake Safety Drill as City Urges Residents to Prepare for Big One

At 10 a.m. on November 13, 2008, more than 5 million people in homes, schools, businesses, government offices, and public places all over southern California will Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Why? An enormous earthquake is imminent in the Los Angeles area, and the ShakeOut Drill is residents' chance to practice what to do when it happens.

The City of Los Angeles has recognized that the city is ill-prepared to take care of their more than 10 million residents. The idea is that by organizing the world's biggest earthquake drill, people will have an opportunity to practice what to do when an earthquake strikes. And seismologist at the California Institute of Technology stress that it is not a matter of if but when the Big One strikes. Recent reports estimate that the L.A. area has a greater than 99% chance of a major earthquake striking in the next 30 years. The plan calls to teach people to "Drop! Cover! And, Hold On!" but the fact is that will not be enough...people need adequate supplies too!

The City does not have a plan for how to get supplies such as food, water, lights, or shelter to all of its residents spread out over the 4,4084 square mile area. It is great that the City is building awareness around earthquake preparedness but they should be stressing that people go out and get a quality earthquake kit that will sustain them and their family. Residents who are lucky enough to survive the actual quake may suffer more as the rescuers will be unable to provide emergency relief, water (if running at all) will not be safe to drink as treatment facilities will be down, electricity will be down, roads will be down, buildings will be unsafe to occupy, and chaos may very well ensue. Residents need to be prepared to take care of themselves not only during an earthquake but also (and more importantly) after one.

We recommend that residents have earthquake survival kits containing all the supplies they need to survive for a minimum of 3 days. QuakeKare Survival Kits contain 72 hours worth of survival food and water which are US Coast Guard Approved to store safely for over 5 years and provide the perfect balance of calories and nutrition for survival victims. Our kits also include all the shelter, sanitation, first-aid, lights, radios, and other earthquake supplies for survival. If you already have a kit and it has been a while, you need to go through it and check the expiration dates on the food and water along with some of the other supplies like first-aid, lightsticks, batteries, and water purification tablets.

By Michael Bartholomew
QuakeKare Press
October 23rd 2008

What do you think? Share your thoughts or ask a question about this topic on our Disaster Preparedness Blog.