Oregon Earthquake Preparedness – What You Should Do?

When an earthquake occurs in a densely inhabited area, it may cause deaths, injuries and widespread property damage. It can collapse buildings and disintegrate bridges. It can disrupt gas lines, electric supplies, and phone service. It can also trigger fires, floods, landslides and huge destructive ocean waves (tsunamis).The damage can be unprecedented, and one can’t stop it, it’s a natural disaster! The best way to protect you is to be prepared!

What to do for Oregon earthquake preparedness:

• Drop, cover, and hold on! Move quickly to a nearby safe place. Get outside the building and move away from tall buildings or structures that can collapse. If you are unable to get outside, move away from walls and hide yourself below sturdy furniture. Cover and protect your head via a pillow or your arms.

• If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from streetlights, power lines, buildings, and trees.
• If you are driving, pull your vehicle over to a clear location, until the shaking stops; stay there with your seatbelt fastened.

• Stay away from windows and doorways.

• If you are in a coastal area like Oregon, move to higher ground as the region will be prone to Tsunamis.
• Landslides commonly happen after earthquakes. So if you are in an area near unstable slopes or cliffs, be alert for rocks and other debris that could be loosened by the earthquake.

How to Protect Your Property during an Oregon earthquake:

• Homes that are fixed to their foundations are less likely to be severely damaged during earthquakes. Whereas homes that are not bolted have been known to slide off their foundations. So, you need to check if your house is properly anchored or not.
• During an Earthquake, items like bookcases, cabinets and other tall furniture can damage orcause injury by falling over. So it’s better to bolt them with wall studs.
• Secure items like televisions, computers, fragile appliances etc that might fall and get damaged.
• Install strong latches or bolts on cabinets to prevent its contents from falling during land quivers.
• Move heavy objects and fragile items like glass to lower shelves.
• It’ll be better and safer to store chemical and flammable products such as weed killers, pesticides etc securely in closed cabinets.
• During earthquakes, brace overhead light fixtures, because they're the most common items to fall, causing damage or injury.
• Any gas appliances should be bolt down. Because after an earthquake, broken gas lines frequently create fire hazards.
• Earthquakes in Oregon can turn cracks into bigger problems. It can cause extensive damage to your construction. Repair any cracks in ceilings or foundations. If there are signs of structural defects, get expert advice.

• Get a professional advice on how to reduce potential damage of your property.

Consider having your building evaluated by a professional structural design engineer. Ask about home repair and strengthening tips. Learn about additional ways you can protect your home. For any further assistance about Oregon earthquake preparedness, feel free to visit us at Ezsystemspdx.com

Be prepared for earthquake, because it’s better to be safe than sorry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shawn DoHerty is an expert when it comes to earthquake safety issues and loves writing interesting articles and blogs, helping people in making the right safety choices. He recommends Ezsystemspdx.com as the best name to trust for any kind of information related to earthquake preparedness in Portland.

Shawn DoHerty is an expert when it comes to earthquake safety issues and loves writing interesting articles