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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042160/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This handbook is focused on helping the people of Northern California prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis before they happen. It provides them with sensible advice on how to survive, save lives, reduce injuries, and minimize damages when these disasters inevitably occur. The handbook’s starting premise is that households cannot rely exclusively on emergency services to ensure their safety in regards to natural hazards, and thus the immediate source of protection must come from personal and community preparedness. From this vantage point, the document outlines a series of questions that each family should answer before faced with disaster, including concerns about where to get medical attention, and essentials such as water, food, and gas during an emergency. The next section discusses the details of plate tectonics, plate boundaries, and subduction zones particular to Northern California. Following this is a history of the various quakes affecting the area, their magnitude, frequency, and the likelihood of future occurrences. The handbook presents a number of variables that determine the degree of damage produced by an earthquake, and earthquake-induced hazards such as landslides, large fires, infrastructure damage, liquefaction, and hazardous material releases. The next segment turns to a discussion of the causes of a tsunami and some natural warning signs to determine whether or not the potential for a tsunami exists, official warning systems, and the Simeulue Islanders and their traditional means of facing tsunami risks. Seven steps are presented in the concluding section of the handbook as key to surviving and recovering from an earthquake or tsunami. The first is to identify hazards such as objects that might fall or shift during an earthquake, and begin to address them. The second is to create a disaster preparedness plan. Third, prepare disaster supply kits that include medications and first aid kits, whistles to alert rescuers, shoes and changes of cloths, emergency cash, bottled water and snacks, flashlights, etc. Fourth, identify structural weaknesses in homes and workplaces, and begin to strengthen them. The fifth recommendation focuses on practicing how to protect oneself during an earthquake using the drop and cover method. The sixth step is to evacuate if in a tsunami hazard zone, and checking for injuries and damage once safe. And the final step discusses following through on established family disaster preparedness plans, particularly predetermined steps towards recovery. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Reduction ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- Dengler, L., Hemphill-Haley, M., Felton, V., Monro, A., Warren, J. (2011). Living on shaky ground: how to survive earthquakes and tsunamis in Northern California. California Earthquake Authority, California Emergency Management Agency, Humboldt State University, and Earthquake Country Alliance.
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