Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 • Earthquake rattles Quincy

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Had it been a night earlier, residents might have mistaken the 4.5 earthquake that shook the Quincy area Friday morning at 4:19 a.m. as the sounds of Santa and his reindeer landing on their roofs.

As of Monday, Jan. 2, no injuries or damage had been reported.

The slow shaking trembler was centered two miles northeast of East Quincy and four miles east-northeast of Quincy, in the vicinity of Carol Lane. The United States Geological Survey Web site classified it as a “light earthquake.”

The quake was felt throughout Plumas County and as far away as Oakland.

By 4:45 a.m. there were 44 reports on the USGS website, some from the Sacramento area, with one Susanville responder saying he had light damage with moderate shaking.

Earthquakes of this size are often felt, but rarely cause damage.

Ten minutes later, 225 responses had been recorded at the USGS website, including the Oakland one about 175 miles from Quincy. A couple of small aftershocks in the 2.5 range were also noted.

By 7 a.m. most of the 340 responses at the USGS Web site were from Quincy, Magalia, Paradise, Nevada City and the Grass Valley area.

Three aftershocks were recorded at 4:30 a.m., 4:41 a.m. and 5:12 a.m., decreasing in intensity from 2.6 to 2.0 on the Richter scale.

Safety tips from US Geological Survey
The minor earthquake that shook Quincy and surrounding areas in the early morning hours the day after Christmas left citizens and structures unscathed.

The Shakemap of the US Geological Survey reported the 4.51 quake occurred five miles east northeast of Quincy at 4:19 a.m. Dec. 26.

Fortunately, no injuries or structural damage was reported.

The USGS offers some guidelines for earthquake preparedness should a major earthquake occur and direct assistance be delayed.

Individual/family preparedness
• Know the safe spots in each room: under sturdy tables or desks, or against inside walls.
• Know the danger spots: windows, mirrors, hanging objects, fireplaces, tall furniture.
• Conduct practice drills: Physically place yourself and your children in safe locations.
• Learn first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) from your local Red Cross Chapter or other community organization.
• Decide where your family will reunite if separated.
• Keep a list of emergency phone numbers.
• Choose an out-of-state friend or relative whom family members can call after the quake to report whereabouts and conditions.

Home preparedness
• Learn how to shut off gas, water and electricity in case the lines are damaged.
• Check chimneys, roofs and wall foundations for stability. Make sure your home is bolted to its foundation. Call a licensed contractor if there are any questions.
• Secure water heaters and appliances that could move enough to rupture utility lines.
• Keep breakable and heavy objects on lower shelves.
• Secure hanging plants and heavy picture frames or mirrors (especially those hanging over beds).
• Put latches on cabinet doors to keep them closed during shaking.
• Keep flammable or hazardous liquids such as paints, pest sprays or cleaning products in cabinets or secured on lower shelves.
• Maintain emergency food, water and other supplies, including medicine, first aid kit and clothing.

Community preparedness
• Suggest that local organizations of which you are a member undertake a specific preparedness program or acquire special training to be of assistance in the event of a damaging earthquake.
• Organize a neighborhood earthquake preparedness program.
• Conduct training for neighborhood residents in preparedness, first aid, fire suppression, damage assessment, and search and rescue.
• Develop self-help networks between families and neighborhood through a skills and resource bank which includes a listing of tools, equipment, materials and neighborhood members who have special skills and resources to share.
• Identify neighbors who have special needs or will require special assistance.
• Have neighbors agree to hang a white flag out after the quake if everyone and everything is OK.

Apartment complexes and mobile home parks
A major earthquake can damage and can injure or kill residents. The following steps should be taken by owners or managers.
• Consult local building codes to ensure that your building meets current seismic safety standards.
• Develop an emergency plan for your building or mobile home park. This plan should include measures for storing water and food, obtaining first aid training, appointing floor or area leaders, conducting drills and other such activities.
• Encourage mobile home residents to better secure their homes by leaving wheels on homes rather than removing them, installing structural support bracing systems and securing the coach’s awnings. (A list of state-certified bracing systems is available from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.)
• Provide tenants with information on how to secure furniture and other household items. Also provide them with information on what to do during and after an earthquake.
• Encourage tenants to develop individual family plans for shutting off damaged utilities, reuniting family members and evacuation, if necessary.
• Identify residents with special needs — such as mobility impaired, non-English speaking, elderly, or hearing and sight impaired — and make sure their needs are addressed in your emergency plans.
• Organize teams that are responsible for first aid, search and rescue, communications and firefighting. Compile a list of resources and skills available among your tenants.
• Provide tenants with a white flag or some other distinguishable sign to be posted after an earthquake if no one in the apartment or mobile home has suffered serious injuries.
• Practice earthquake drills in your complex or park.
• Find out and inform your tenants where the nearest mass shelter area is located.
• Organize a meeting at which a local emergency and disaster planner can provide information on earthquake preparedness.

People with disabilities
• Develop a “buddy” system with family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Plan how you will help each other in an emergency. If you live alone, you may wish to give your buddy a key to your home.
• Make a list of your medications, allergies, special equipment, names, addresses and telephone numbers of your doctor, pharmacy, family members, friends and any other important information. Give a copy to each buddy, and keep a copy with you at all times.
• Eliminate hazards in your home. Securely anchor medical equipment, heavy appliances, bookcases, hanging plants and other items. Place heavy objects on low shelves. Move beds away from windows. Check hallways, exits, doorways and other areas and remove hazards and obstructions, which may impede your safe exit after an earthquake. Install security nightlights to provide emergency lighting if power is interrupted.
• Gather emergency supplies. Assemble a 72-hour emergency supply kit, which includes water, any special diet foods, sanitary aids, cooking and eating utensils, flashlight, radio, blankets, a change of clothing and a whistle for signaling for assistance. Include a well-stocked first aid kit, with extra prescription medications and an extra pair of glasses. Store extra batteries for hearing aids, wheelchairs and other battery-operated equipment. Keep a mini survival kit in your car.

Special tips
If you are deaf or hearing impaired, keep a battery-operated television on hand, with fresh batteries, for receiving emergency information if power is out. Store flashlight, pencil and pad for communicating. Arrange for hearing friends or coworkers to relay information broadcast by radio.

If you are blind or have impaired vision, keep extra canes in strategic areas around your home. Plan alternate evacuation routes from home and office. Store extra pet food and supplies for your guide dog.

If you use a wheelchair, tie to it a lightweight drawstring bag containing your medications, your special emergency sanitary aids, a small flashlight, and a whistle for emergency use or evacuation. Determine at least two usable exits from each room, and from your building. Store extra batteries for your wheelchair and a charger for your rechargeable batteries.

Participate in earthquake drills, moving to cover, if possible, locking the wheels, and protecting your head with your arms, a pillow, lap robe, books or any handy object.

Planning guide for seniors
Major earthquakes can kill and injure thousands of people. Even moderate earthquakes can cause death, injury and property damage. They also can seriously disrupt all of those things we have come to take for granted and to depend on for our well-being. Developing individual, family and neighborhood earthquake plans can help you improve your chances of surviving an earthquake without injury or serious damage.

Plan for family, friends and neighbors to check on each other after an earthquake. (Telephones may not be working, so this should be arranged between people who live near to one another.)

Maintain a list of your medications, allergies and special equipment. Include the name, address and telephone number of your doctor, pharmacist, a family member, clergyman or special friend. Take this list with you if you must leave your home after an earthquake.

Falling objects pose one of the greatest hazards in an earthquake. Older people may not be as agile or as mobile as they once were, making it difficult or impossible to quickly get under a piece of heavy furniture such as a table or desk for protection. Therefore, it is very important to eliminate hazards in the home that could fall and cause injury.

 If you cannot do these things yourself, ask a friend or family member for assistance
• Securely anchor any medical equipment, heavy appliances, bookcases, China cabinets, hanging plants and other items.
• Place heavy objects on low shelves.
• Move beds away from windows.
• Make sure doorways, halls and exits are clear so that you may exit safely.
• Add latches to cabinets and drawers to keep them from opening in an earthquake.
• Keep a 72-hour supply of emergency food and water. Have a well-stocked first aid kit, flashlight and batteries, portable radio and essential medications.
• Protect.
Know where to go for protection when shaking starts. Find a safe spot in each room: under a heavy piece of furniture like a desk or sturdy table, against inside walls, or under supported archways. If you cannot reach a safe spot, sit down or stay sitting where you are until the shaking stops. Cover your head with your arms.
If outside, move to a safe spot away from buildings, overhead wires and windows.

Special needs
Many seniors have special needs. Taking the following actions will increase your chances of riding out an earthquake safely.
• If you use life support equipment, such as oxygen, have someone fasten the large tank securely to prevent it from falling over in an earthquake. If you use a wheelchair, walker, crutches, canes or other types of mechanical walking aids, keep them near you at all times. If possible, have extra walking aids available in different locations throughout your home.
• Place a security light in each room. These lights plug into any electrical wall outlet and light up automatically if there is a loss of electricity. They will continue operating automatically for four to six hours, and you can turn them off by hand in an emergency.
• Have a whistle to signal for help in an emergency.
• If you use battery-operated equipment, store extra batteries and replace them annually.
• If your life support equipment requires electricity, buy an emergency generator.
• Have a smoke detector and fire alarm system installed. If you have difficulty hearing, install a system that has flashing strobe lights to get your attention. If you have a battery-operated detector, replace batteries annually.
• If you use a hearing aid, keep an extra supply of batteries with your emergency supplies. Remember to replace them annually.
• If you wear glasses, keep an extra pair with your emergency supplies.

Community response team
After a major earthquake or other emergency, fire, police and other emergency response agencies may be overburdened and may not be able to reach your community immediately.

You and your neighbors (or coworkers) may have to take initial emergency response actions and fend for yourselves for at least 72 hours.

Past earthquakes have shown that the first rescuers on scene are usually volunteers who reside in, work in or are visiting the area.

Volunteers from the community have played vital roles immediately following earthquakes by putting out small fires, providing first aid, and searching for and rescuing trapped persons. However, untrained volunteers can endanger their own lives, as well as the lives of those individuals they are trying to assist.

Several California communities are working now to organize and train volunteer community response teams in basic emergency response techniques. If a response team has not already been formed in your community, join now with other interested individuals to form one for any community (home, work, school, etc.) in which you routinely spend more than four-six hours a day.

Joining or forming a community response team can greatly improve your chances of surviving an earthquake or other emergency and can improve the self-sufficiency of your entire neighborhood.

The members of your community response team should learn how to assess (1) themselves and their families (or coworkers) for injuries, (2) their homes (or work places) for hazards and damage, and (3) their neighborhoods for injuries, hazards, needs and available resources.

They should also learn planning and mapping skills, criteria for staging area and casualty collection point locations, as well as the identification of hazardous areas to avoid.

Contact your local police and fire departments, city/county Office of Emergency Services, American Red Cross chapter or community college to arrange for speakers and training workshops.

Response teams should arrange to participate in annual earthquake exercises sponsored by local government or businesses, and develop their own community exercises in cooperation with local emergency services agencies.

Inventory neighborhood skills
As part of the community response team planning process, teams should conduct an inventory of the skills and resources available within their home/office neighborhoods.       Who in your community has medical, electrical, child-care, leadership, firefighting or survival skills? Who owns a chainsaw, citizens band radio, four-wheel drive vehicle, motorcycle, water purifier, etc.? Who is physically able to become a “runner/bicycler” to deliver messages if telephone lines are down? Who is a licensed amateur radio (ham) operator? What kinds of local businesses are nearby?

Having this vital information on hand before an earthquake is essential for efficient, effective response.

Evaluate special needs
Every home/office neighborhood has individuals with special needs. Do you have a neighbor or coworker who is deaf or hearing impaired? Blind? Has limited mobility? Requires oxygen? Doesn’t speak English? Has a significant medical condition? Are there homes where children are likely to be alone during daylight hours?

Your community response team should work with these individuals in advance to determine what extra assistance or supplies they may require after an earthquake or other emergency.

Store supplies
In addition to the water, food and other supplies that everyone needs to stock, members of the community response team should store tools such as gloves, goggles, crescent wrenches, hard hats, vests, flashlights and other items that the team determines will be useful after an earthquake. Items should be stored in a central and easily accessible location.