What Do I Put in My Earthquake Kit?

I hear this question a lot. It takes a little imagination and personal evaluation. Basically, it depends on individual circumstances, but there is a common denominator with nearly everyone....that being, that there's a very good chance of being caught on the road, away from work or home, when a major earthquake strikes. At any given time there are hundreds of thousands of vehicles on the road. For that reason alone, it is a wise choice to have a B.O.B. (bug out bag) or carry out bag in your vehicle at all times, and since it will most likely be with you wherever you go, that's where I suggest you might start - an auto emergency kit with food and water, enough to last at least 48 to 72 hours.

One big mistake....is thinking that once you've purchased a $25.00 emergency survival kit and a $10.00 first aid kit, you are ready for any type of emergency! Sure, it's a start, and anything is better than nothing, but being really prepared is a never ending task. A small food bar and a couple of water packets is a SNACK, not an emergency kit. A first aid kit is an absolute must, but will need to be able to "doctor up" more than a minor scratch or bruise?

Think About It ? A Highway Emergency Disaster

If you've ever driven the freeways in California (who in California hasn't) then you know what a pileup can be like from a simple auto accident. You've probably seen the same situation from a single CHP handing out a ticket alongside the freeway. Thousands of vehicles are quickly brought to a crawl or sudden stop. Getting on the "move" again can take quite some time. Now imagine a major catastrophic earthquake.... where many interchanges, even though they are retrofitted for an seismic 8 earthquake, will need to be inspected before allowing vehicles to once again pass over them. Roads may be buckled, broken, and become impassable, and even though one accident alone can back up traffic for miles, you could be looking at accidents that could be numbered in the hundreds!

You Could be Sitting in a Nightmare!

One big hellacious parking lot, from which your only choices may be to try and wait it out or abandon your car for a cross country trek. It could be days before all the accidents are completely cleaned up and the detours are made available. In the meantime your car has now become your temporary living quarters. Providing you have not been injured in an accident, you first needs will probably be food, water and yes, some type of sanitary bathroom facilities (or have you forgotten about that?). Emergency food bars and water packets or water boxes are a must have. They are immune from drastic heat levels and have a shelf life of up to 5 years, and can be stored in the trunk of a car. Their low costs make them a no-brainer, so I would really stock up on the water. By the way, a case of plastic water bottles in the heat of a car will be very short lived.

I also recommend some type of temporary "restroom" facility items where one can answer nature's call. Let's face it, sooner or later, this will be a major concern!...when you gotta go, you gotta go. What are your alternatives? You could be sharing the "countryside facilities" with a lot of strangers! One option could be a "honey bucket" (a 5 gallon pail with removable toilet seat), sanitary bags, TP and sanitary wipes! Another option is a product called "Restop 1" and "Restop 2", which are also good choices for emergencies....and there are other similar products. This could prove to be a life saving and a very necessary and rewarding solution.

Make sure you have a good spare, jack, and jumper cables just in case. Tools to keep your vehicle moving are actually a part of a good emergency kit. If you ever do get moving again, you don't want a stalled car to make things worse than they already are.
Keep a dynamo (hand wind up) radio and flashlight handy, so you will know what's going on and if help is on the way. Sure you've got a radio in your car, but do you really want to run down your battery? A portable solar charger for your cell phone might also come in handy. You may want to include some blankets and pillows in case you're forced to spend a night or two and have an extra pair of walking shoes and a poncho in case you need to hoof it out of there. Another obvious choice would be a first aid kit and, of course, any extra prescription drugs that you may need.

Remember, interchanges have been retrofitted, so while they may not collapse, this doesn't mean they will be safe to drive on - most likely authorities will not let you drive on them - In fact, most interchanges will be shut down for safety precautions after a large earthquake and will require close inspection before you are allowed to cross over them again. Exits and off ramps will be swamped with hundreds of thousand of vehicles trying to get to freedom. Many exits will be barricaded and closed due to fires, accidents, floods, damaged roads, scattered debris, fallen electrical wires, etc., so unless you have a pretty mean 4x4, don't think you're going to make an escape any time soon.

Worse Case Scenarios

Earthquakes can strike at any time. Be ready for any type of weather conditions, that could complicate the situation. You may have to spend a couple of days in your car, so be sure to have warm clothing and blankets, for it gets pretty cold at night, in the dead of winter, even in California. Emergency sleeping bags and blankets will go a long way to help prevent hypothermia. Even a simple mylar blanket or mylar bag can retain about 80% of yor body heat and may help to prevent hypothermia. Again, their low cost make them a no brainer.

Summer months can present an opposite situation where the heat inside your car might make it unbearable to stay inside. You can't leave the car running all day with the air conditioner on, so you will probably be forced to spend some time outside the car. For this reason you may want to keep a hat and some sunscreen handy, and a folding lawn chair to sit in - and oh yeah, some extra water - as much as you can store convenienly. A good first aid kit with a cold pack and a wet towel might help fight off heat stress or heat stroke. Simple water packets that can keep you alive for 72 hours can cost less than $5.00, and will last you over 5 years before they need to be replaced! We also highly suggest a backup water filter and/or water purification tabs, or a filter/purifier, such as the Lifestraw. Remember, you will pretty much be on your own and it could be for several days!

The Real Worse Case Scenario:

We're all familiar with the California Santa Ana winds. We can only hope that a major quake doesn't strike during the windy season. This would be a real worse case scenario! Hundreds of potential fires could become thousands of separate fires in a hurry with strong winds and little or no water to put them out. Entire cities could possibly be burnt to the ground, especially in a Santa Ana condition. Professionals, who have studied the possible effects of such a large earthquake, have actually come to the conclusion that fires may present twice the damage as the earthquake itself - and this is without the complications of the Santa Anas! In cities such as Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside large fires could possibly burn several city blocks at a time. We're talking some serious situations. For this reason, you will want to keep a few N95 face masks and some goggles inside your emergency kit to protect you from debris and smoke inhalation.

A Word About Schools and Classrooms

If your reading this and you have children (the vast majority of you do), then I know you will be concerned with their safety. Smaller children, especially those in the elementary grades will be in a lockdown situation at school, along with their teachers. Children of this age cannot be allowed to leave without the parents or someone who has been cleared to pick them up. As a parent, you may be one of those caught in the commuting nightmare. Thus, it could be a long while before all of these kids are released. For this reason, I highly recommend that these classrooms carry some food bars, water boxes, light sticks, emergency mylar sleeping bags, and some type of temporary outside privacy shelter with an emergency "honey bucket" and sanitary supplies, should the toilet facilities become unusable. If you are a teacher, parent or someone in school risk management, I strongly urge you to get together and draw up some type of plan for supplies for such an emergency. We will be glad to help in any way we can.

At Home Earthquake Kit

An earthquake kit for the home might be considerably different from the one you carry in your car.
Once you've gotten away from the commuting nightmare and everyone is safely at home, your struggle is far from over. Although now at home, you may have access to more of the necessities you will need to survive, there are still monumental obstacles to overcome. While your house may still be standing, who in their right mind would want to try and sleep inside this potential tomb? Structurally, it could be very unsafe and there will be hundreds of aftershocks. As I have stated before, you may have to "rough it" outside for a while, so just think of it as a prolonged camping expedition. This is where a good tent and some sleeping bags come in. If you've ever done any camping, you may already have most of the items you will need. You will probably be doing a lot of campfire cooking out in the ol backyard,. so some type of stove (possibly propane), will come in handy.

Food stored in cans and possibly MRE's or freeze dried foods will now replace the food bars you carried in your car for an emergency and instead of water packs or water boxes that you had stored in your car, you will now have a 55 gallon water drum or two to supply your family's water needs for the next few weeks until help arrives. You did remember to buy the water drum, didn't you?

Other items you will need include a dynamo radio and flashlight (from your auto emergency kit), gloves, duct tape and tools for prying open jammed doors and cupboards, and a hard hat, because you know you will be going inside occasionally to get supplies, no matter what the warnings may be. I don't recommend you do this, but if you do, you will definitely want to wear a hard hat with all the coming aftershocks!
Candles and lightsticks are a very inexpensive way of providing light at night., but you will probably need some type of lantern as well.
Finally, you will need that port-a-potty or "honey bucket" that you may have carried in your car. A good privacy shelter/shower would work great for a temporary bathroom. Remember, sewage lines will be broken and most likely backed up, so your bathrooms inside may be unfit for use - but if you must use them, make sure you have a box of toilet liners (or a roll of kitchen bags), twist tabs, seat covers, sanitary chemicals, some TP, antibacterial wipes and a hard hat handy. Basically, everything you might need if you were going away camping.

Where Do I Store All This Stuff?

Again, every situation is different. Preferably, you would like to store your emergency items outside of the house for obvious reasons. A metal shed with a lock would work well, but remember to hide the key outside as well. For added weather protection, the items can be placed in an open 55 gallon polyethylene drum with a banded seal on top. Still another means of storage might be in an outdoor storage deck box or deck bench. They are made of heavy duty resin and will keep the items dry inside, plus they double as a bench seat. However, it is best that they are not subjected to direct weather, such as rain, but placed underneath a patio cover, for instance. They will normally have the capacity to be locked with a padlock, and generally can be found at various home improvement stores.
 

Other Things to Consider:

Personal hygiene will soon become a concern. If you've ever watched an episode of "Survivor" you know how important it will be to keep regular hygiene and stay healthy, so have a personal hygiene kit ready - it could be one that you have already created for your auto emergency kit. You will need water for any type of hygiene. Drinking water will be a precious commodity, but you will still have water stored in the pipes in your home. You will also have water from you toilet tanks (not the bowl) to use. We have filters for your water heaters that will allow you to store an additional 30 or more gallons of drinking water or you can use it for other means. Finally, if you have a pool or spa, you can use this water for bathing, washing dishes, etc. but be sure the water is disinfected first. We also carry a water filter that will instantly provide an additional 100 gallons of 99.99% pure drinking water from your swimming pool.

Start Your Earthquake Preparedness With a Car Kit
It will almost always be with you, wherever you are.