Earthquake Safety Tips

If I had known about earthquake safety tips before the San Fernando, California Earthquake, I wouldn't have made these mistakes.

I was shaken out of bed early in the morning on that day. My first instinct was to run outside, (not a good idea). While running outside, I was hit by roof tiles as they fell from the roof.

A wave of water from the pool hit me and knocked me down and left me shaken and uncertain of what was going to happen next. As you can imagine, I will never forget that day.

Severe earthquakes are one of the most destructive and frightening acts of nature that can happen anywhere in the world and have terrible after effects.

Without warning an earthquake can strike suddenly and violently and can happen any time of the day or night. If a severe earthquake were to strike a populated area, the earthquake effects would be catastrophic causing death, injuries and property damage.

If you and your family learn about earthquake safety tips, it will give you the knowledge you need to dramatically improve your chances of doing well during an earthquake. Educating yourself and preparing in advance are key to surviving an earthquake.



Some of the ways to educate yourself would be to know some earthquake terms.

Earthquake Terms:

Aftershocks
Earthquake(s) that are similar or less in magnitude that occur after the main earthquake.

Earthquake
Shaking or slipping movement of the earths crust, followed by seismic waves and vibrations.

Epicenter
The point on the earth's surface vertically above the fault in the earth's crust where the earthquake rupture begins.

Earthquake Faults
A fracture in which there has been a displacement on either side relative to one another parallel to the fracture.

Magnitude
A number that categorizes the amount of energy released during an earthquake.

Seismic Waves
An earthquake's vibrations that travel outwardly at speeds of several miles per second from the earthquake fault.

Richter Scale
An earthquake scale that measures the magnitude of the seismic energy released during an earthquake.

Seismograph
A very sensitive instrument that can detect ground vibrations during an earthquake.





Return to top - Earthquake Safety Tips