In the Pacific Northwest, one hazard that everyone should prepare for is earthquakes. Oregon and Washington face significant risk of experiencing an earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 600-mile-long fault off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Subduction zone faults can produce the largest earthquakes on Earth, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone has a 37% chance of producing a M7.0 or greater earthquake in the next 50 years. Our region has an even higher likelihood of experiencing a deep intraplate earthquake similar to the one that hit Nisqually, Washington in 2001 – an 84% chance over the next 50 years. These earthquakes could cause extensive damage to homes and critical infrastructure and disrupt normal services like utilities and transportation for days, weeks, or even months.

National Preparedness Month gives all of us the opportunity to get prepared for these possibilities. You cannot control the likelihood that earthquakes and other natural disasters will occur. But you can control your risk, or the likelihood that you will be hurt or that your property will be damaged. Taking steps to get prepared will ensure that you are warned before a disaster occurs, stay safe while it unfolds, and have access to basic necessities and communication with loved ones after it ends. Getting prepared for earthquakes and other natural disasters can seem like a daunting or expensive project. But there are many simple and inexpensive steps you can take.

You can sign up for free emergency alerts that will notify you if a disaster is occurring in your town and keep you updated as it unfolds. Having multiple ways to receive alerts is important.

• Double check your phone settings to ensure that “Emergency Alerts” are enabled. Both Android and Apple phones have settings that impact your ability to get automated emergency alerts from the Wireless Emergency Alert system.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts from your local county government via OR-Alert.
• Make sure you can receive earthquake early warning alerts on your phone. Download free earthquake early warning apps like MyShake. If you have an iPhone, enable “Local Awareness” as well as “Emergency Alerts” to ensure more timely alerts.

Receiving an alert is only useful if you know how to respond. As soon as you receive an earthquake early warning alert you should Drop, Cover, Hold On. This action will reduce the likelihood that you will get injured due to falling or from an object falling on you.

Practice these protective actions regularly by participating in the Great Oregon ShakeOut. ShakeOut is the world’s largest earthquake drill and happens every year on the third Thursday of October.

Disasters can place people in scary and unpredictable situations. You can get separated from your loved ones or need to evacuate from your home. Creating an emergency plan empowers you to know ahead of time how you would respond in these situations.

• In your emergency plan, think through where you would go if you needed to evacuate, as well as what you would do if you had to shelter in place for an extended period of time.
• Because internet and cell service may be down, make plans with your family about when and where you would reunify.  Identify a friend or family member in a different region that can be a point of contact for check-ins in case local power, internet, or cell service is disrupted.
• It is important to consider and include elderly people, disabled people, pets, and children within your plan.
• Be sure to discuss your emergency plan with your family, neighbors, and other loved ones.

It is important to build an emergency kit with a two-week supply of basic necessities like food, water, and medications. This will ensure you can survive even if access to critical goods and services becomes disrupted for several days and aid takes time to arrive. Additionally, having an emergency kit takes pressure off of emergency responders so they can prioritize life-threatening situations and help the most vulnerable.

• Be sure to include special supplies for children, elderly people, and disabled people, and pets in your kit.
• Purchasing supplies for an emergency kit does not have to be expensive. Even purchasing one extra box or can of non-perishable food each week can help.
• It can also be helpful to build a go-bag with critical necessities for a few days, including important documents, in case you have to evacuate your home suddenly.

Earthquake shaking can topple heavy furniture, knock books and dishes off shelves, shake pictures or televisions off of wall mounts, and damage your home’s structure. Doing a home hazards hunt can make you aware of these possible safety risks and provide an opportunity to mitigate them.

• Take 30 minutes to walk through your home. Imagine what would happen inside it during an earthquake. Make a list of these potential hazards as well as ideas for how to address them. This could include securely fastening heavy furniture and water heaters to walls, installing safety fasteners on cabinets and shelves, and removing pictures and mirrors from the wall above your bed.
• A home hazards hunt is also an opportunity to learn how to turn off gas valves. This could prevent fires if gas lines break during an earthquake.
• During your home hazards hunt, take a few extra minutes to list and photograph your possessions. If your home is damaged during an earthquake, this documentation can help you file insurance claims.
• Earthquakes can also cause structural damage to older or poorly constructed homes. For example, homes can slide off their foundations and their cripple walls could collapse. Seismic retrofits can modify your homes to make them more resistant to this damage.