EARTHQUAKE ANNIVERSARY: Are you ready for the next one?

If you were in this area 18 years ago, right now you were coping with the aftermath of the Nisqually earthquake, which hit at 10:54 am on February 28, 2001, with a magnitude of 6.8. Someday, the experts say, something even bigger will hit. It’s the natural disaster you most need to prepare for, and you are lucky to have neighbors who are dedicated to helping. To mark the anniversary, they’re sharing the video (by local videographer Mark Jaroslaw) from two of the keynote presentations at a full-house preparedness event in West Seattle back in November:

Journalist Sandi Doughton and preparedness Dave Nichols were just two of the presenters; we covered the entire event and published this report afterward. As our headline noted, the most important preparedness plan is the one for your home, your family, your neighborhood – especially in the early aftermath, even the professional responders will be overwhelmed, and you need to be ready to be self-reliant. Lots more resources, by the way, are available at West Seattle Be Prepared.

Bee’s knees February 28, 2019 (4:38 pm)

I was 13 and in Northern California for the Loma Prieta quake in ‘89. We were running errands in town more than 100 miles from the epicenter and I’ll never forget watching all the traffic lights bouncing up and down while our (stopped) cat swayed forward and back. Anyway, now I’m always worried about my reliance on my cell phone for everything. So we’ve taken some small precautions like actually writing down phone numbers of important friends and family and keeping them in our wallets. Also working out a meeting place in advance, in case we can’t get home or need to leave home. Assuming a significant quake, that can be tricky since bridges might not be a viable option.

Hoku February 28, 2019 (10:44 pm)

Thank you so much for calling out this anniversary. I had the honor of being part of earthquake response for the city. My preparedness includes having good shoes near me (under my bed & in my car) and making sure there’s nothing that can hurt you while you’re in bed or in your exit pathway (no framed pictures above your bed or in exit stairways). These suggestions are in addition to all of the other preparedness recommendations.

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