The coming earthquake...

 

 

"How bad could it be? It could kill thousands, topple buildings, and liquefy hundreds of miles of shoreline..."

 

 

It is hard to go anywhere on the internet without reading about the projected Seattle earthquake. According to some seismologists, this one could be a dozzie. Not that I am a doubter, it is just that the "big one" has been predicted to hit the west coast ever since 1969.

Yes, I was getting ready to go to boot camp in San Diego in the spring of 1969. Jeanne Dixon, a premier prognosticator of the time, said the "big one" was going to hit in March or April of that year. When I arrived in boot camp on the 24th of April 1969, I kept thinking about Jeanne Dixon. It bothered me she was often more right than wrong. Then on April 26, two days after I got to boot camp, there was a tremor we all felt. I had never felt one before. It scared me as I thought this was it. But that is all it was, and life in boot camp went on.

And then there was the time in the 1980's when I was on a business trip in Sunnyvale, California (in the Bay area). After a full day of negotiations, my team and I were in our respective rooms relaxing. About 8pm the hotel started to shake. This one was more than a tumor, as it was a 4.4 earthquake. If I told you it did not unsettle me, I would be fibbing.

My best man from when I got married went on to become a geological engineer. Once he learned about the major "slip fault" on the west coast, he said he was never going out there again. He knew when that thing cut loose, it would be bad, very bad. That is all I could think of when that quake hit on my business trip. Is this it? Will the hotel collapse? Fortunately, it was just the 4.4 shake.

What will happen if the big one hits as projected? What if it is a 9.0 on the Richter scale? Many of us remember the 9.2 shaker that hit Alaska on Good Friday of 1964. It was the largest ever to hit the United States. Even though the epicenter of the quake was not under a populated area of the state, it still devastated Anchorage. It a similar quake would hit by Seattle, it would be nothing short of catastrophic. Thousands would die. Tens or hundreds of thousands would be left homeless. It would be one the worst natural disasters every to hit the United States.

In the real world of natural disasters, there is really not much you can do about many of them. Be it an asteroid, be it an earthquake, be it a tidal wave - we are often times at the mercy of nature. What we can do is very simple. If there is any warning, have a "bug out" plan. If you are not at the epicenter of the disaster, have a plan to use your home as not only a domicile, but also your store. If transportation gets shut down, most stores will have empty shelves in two days or less.

Have enough potable water for 30 days. If possible, have some non-potable water on hand also (flushing toilets and so on). If you are on meds, have some extra meds which have not expired. Have 15 to 20 gallons of fresh gasoline on hand. Have some cash in you home safe. Have a firearm and know how to use it. Have a couple hundred pounds of charcoal with enough lighter fluid (and matches) on hand. And batteries, you can never have enough of them.

We will hope this latest scare ends up being just that - a scare. However, being prepared is not something we should take lightly. In the event of a major shortage, even the things we take most for granted might end up being the most precious. Think like a Boy Scout - be prepared!