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What to do during an earthquake By Courtney Taylor At 1:53 pm on June 16, 2005, Yucaipa experienced a magnitude 4.9 earthquake centered four miles north of the center of town. It was felt from downtown Los Angeles to some areas of San Diego. However, minimal damage was reported. So what should you do when the earth starts shaking? Remember in the olden days when we all stood in doorways during an earthquake? That's because after a major earthquake all you saw for miles and miles were doorway after doorway. Right? Um… The website www.ready.gov says to drop, cover and hold on. If you're also on fire you should stop, drop, cover, roll and hold on. Let's hope that's not the case. As soon as you feel the shaking, drop to the ground and take cover under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture then hold on until it stops. If there's no desk or table, go to an inside corner of your house or building, crouch and cover your face and head with your arms. Stay away from windows that could shatter and furniture or lighting fixtures that could fall on you. If you're in bed, stay there and cover your head with a pillow, but not so much that you can't breathe. Don't stay in your bed if it's under a chandelier or a poorly mounted ceiling mirror. If that's the Success made simple. case, get to a safe place - your favorite crouching corner, for example. Don't stand in the doorway unless it's a load-bearing doorway and it's close to you. Stay inside until the earthquake stops and it's safe to go outside. Don't exit the building during the shaking (like I did in 2005 holding my 5-year-old son — oops). Most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside or try to leave. Here's another one from the desk of Captain Obvious: Don't use the elevators. Unless, of course, you love being confined in a small, cramped box for hours on end or possibly plunging 15 stories to your certain maiming, then be my guest. Ready.gov recommends if you're outside, stay there. Oh, thanks for that tip. I think I'll run inside a building that might collapse. Glad I visited this website. Move away from buildings, streetlights and utilty wires to an open area and stay there until the shaking stops. Most earthquake related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects. In the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, 120 people were killed when they ran outside of buildings during the earthquake. If you're in your car, stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near buildings (in case you missed the last fun fact about the 1933 earthquake), trees, overpasses and utiltiy wires. After the earthquake has stopped, avoid roads, bridges or ramps that might have been damaged. One of my biggest fears is that I'll be under an overpass during an earthquake. When the overpass pancakes on me, I'm miraculously unharmed, yet trapped in my car. I have limited movement and can't reach my bottle of water because it's beyond my reach by a fraction of an inch. I die of dehydration, of course. My sister's biggest fear is spiders. Another interesting scenario is being in a glass enclosed shower during an earthquake. Where's your crouching corner now? It may, however, be almost fun to be in a swimming pool during an earthquake, unless you ride a wave out of the pool and into the side of your house. Actually, I can't think of many "fun" earthquakes. They're unpredictable, dangerous, and worst of all, overdue. Take an hour this week and get your emergency kit together. I think I'll look into a solar charger for my phone - and a way to carry water around my neck while I drive. Advertise with the best. Promote your business in Our Yucaipa, Sun Lakes Lifestyles, Four Seasons Breeze or Beaumont Now! 909-797-3647 OUR YUCAIPA | SEPTEMBER 2013 13

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