emergency prep for vacation

[Yahtzee]

I try to keep a level head concerning end days prophecies, but anxiety coupled with all the recent disaster activity and the whole September 23 thing has admittedly kept me up at night. My family is going on vacation to California this weekend for a wedding. Nevermind that my garden will freeze. Between the small earthquakes in Utah and the 3.6 in LA recently I'm concerned about an earthquake happening in either place while we're gone. Apart from giving our home teacher a key to check on our home if needed, what can we do to prepare our home if there's an earthquake in Utah while we're gone? How can we prepare for an earthquake in California while we are vacationing there?

[David13]

Probably all you need to do is keep a nearly full tank of gas.
If, in that very rare instance there is an earthquake, or any real serious earthquake, basically what you are going to want to do is get in the car and get out.
As there may be no electricity, and stores will start selling out of any essentials. There probably would not be mass exodus as you have for hurricanes so you ought to have ordinary traffic, maybe a little heavy, to get back home and gas and food available on the way out.
The 44 years I lived there none of these "big ones" that were perpetually predicted ever occurred.
We did have one where the power was out (for us only, real, well, maybe 5 blocks) for 6 days or so? Great agony, of course. We went and rented a big generator.
Water, cable, internet, phones all worked within hours.
Some items like batteries were sold out in stores for a few days, but you should have the spare batteries that you might need on hand already.
You will already have water and snacks etc in your car with you for your ordinary travel.
The big factor of course is ... DON'T PANIC!
This isn't Mexico where the buildings are constructed so poorly that they collapse from the slightest wiggle.
dc

[gkearney]

At your home there are a number of things you can do and many of these are good to do even if you don't expect an earthquake. They are simply good safety measures. One of the biggest is to secure heavy furniture that would be prone to tipping over, either in an earthquake or even having a child climb on it, to the wall. TV should be mounted to a wall. Pictures should be hung normally but then the corners secured with blue tack. This will keep them from flying about in a earthquake and keeps the straight as well. You can also use blue tack to stick things like vases to the shelf they are on which will keep them secure in all but the most massive earthquake. Your should keep a gas valve wrench net to the valve to turn off the gas if you need to.

As to travel it is always a good idea to keep your cart/camper/what have you filled with gas. Try to park it away from things that might fall on it. Remember trees will likely not fall over in an earthquake but buildings and walls will.

I agree with that below. It is very unlikely that you will encounter an earthquake while you are gone. And beyond taking the usual steps there is not much you could do about it anyway so try and have a nice time and don't worry about it all the time, people in California don't.

[WhereCanITurn4Peace]

My suggestion might be unexpected, but one that may be the most needed...can you ask your husband for a blessing of peace and comfort? If you're having so much anxiety that it's causing you sleeping issues, a blessing is possibly what you need the most right now. *Hugs*

[brianj]

The following should be common sense for people driving across a desert, but unfortunately sense isn't common.

Go buy a case of water bottles. I'm a Costco member and like going there for a lot of cheap bottles. Keep it in your trunk, but keep a few bottles in the passenger compartment in case people get thirsty.
Bring food with you. People will set out on a long road trip without anything to eat. They anticipate that nothing bad could ever happen and they can just stop at the next fast food store when they want something. But two days worth of food for everybody in the car takes up a pretty small amount of space.
Check the weather. You can anticipate lows in the mid-30s in Reno the next couple of days. Have sufficiently warm clothing so that if you were stuck in the desert for several hours without running the engine you won't be getting hypothermic.

Nothing is happening this weekend. People claim that something we can't see because it's too close to the sun is a major sign, but what good are signs that can't be seen? Did the Star of Bethlehem shine as bright as Venus while right next to the sun so you could only see it if you were looking directly at it, or was it something plainly visible to people who were looking forward to it? The September 23 thing is, to me, little different from the blood moon things. Someone making a very comfortable living through preiestcraft decided to call certain lunar eclipses blood moons and suddenly people think that's what prophecy referred to? Why? An M 3.6 earthquake isn't worth anything more than clogging phone lines for a few hours.

[Yahtzee]

My suggestion might be unexpected, but one that may be the most needed...can you ask your husband for a blessing of peace and comfort? If you're having so much anxiety that it's causing you sleeping issues, a blessing is possibly what you need the most right now. *Hugs*

Actually, thank you. This is exactly what needed. I haven't had any anxiety issues for months (it's post partum anxiety and I figured it was over) and it caught me off guard. So hard to keep a level head and remember this resource.

But I also legitimately have never thought about emergency preparedness while away from home. I love so many of these suggestions, especially the parking one!!

The following should be common sense for people driving across a desert, but unfortunately sense isn't common.

Go buy a case of water bottles. I'm a Costco member and like going there for a lot of cheap bottles. Keep it in your trunk, but keep a few bottles in the passenger compartment in case people get thirsty.
Bring food with you. People will set out on a long road trip without anything to eat. They anticipate that nothing bad could ever happen and they can just stop at the next fast food store when they want something. But two days worth of food for everybody in the car takes up a pretty small amount of space.

I have been guilty of that, but not since having kids, lol!! Actually, one thing I like to do is freeze the water bottles and use them to keep my food cold in the cooler. Then I don't have to deal with all the water from melted ice. 2 days is a good idea though.

[David13]

The following should be common sense for people driving across a desert, but unfortunately sense isn't common.

Go buy a case of water bottles. I'm a Costco member and like going there for a lot of cheap bottles. Keep it in your trunk, but keep a few bottles in the passenger compartment in case people get thirsty.
Bring food with you. People will set out on a long road trip without anything to eat. They anticipate that nothing bad could ever happen and they can just stop at the next fast food store when they want something. But two days worth of food for everybody in the car takes up a pretty small amount of space.
Check the weather. You can anticipate lows in the mid-30s in Reno the next couple of days. Have sufficiently warm clothing so that if you were stuck in the desert for several hours without running the engine you won't be getting hypothermic.

Nothing is happening this weekend. People claim that something we can't see because it's too close to the sun is a major sign, but what good are signs that can't be seen? Did the Star of Bethlehem shine as bright as Venus while right next to the sun so you could only see it if you were looking directly at it, or was it something plainly visible to people who were looking forward to it? The September 23 thing is, to me, little different from the blood moon things. Someone making a very comfortable living through preiestcraft decided to call certain lunar eclipses blood moons and suddenly people think that's what prophecy referred to? Why? An M 3.6 earthquake isn't worth anything more than clogging phone lines for a few hours.

Crossing the desert I only (in recent and memorable years) broke down twice. The first time in Mexico. In a scenic overlook. I was able to mooch all the water I needed off the Mexicans and a tow came within a few hours.
The second time was in a convenience store.
So both times I really needed nothing.
Some water is good, but I don't think you need two days of food on the road. Only if you are going off road, and off trail. Even on the trail, in all of the western states that I know of, someone usually is also out there. And willing to help if necessary.
On the road, a trucker usually stops right away. And the telephone gets you all the help you need.
Now, I would say, more important, don't try to take some old, worn out junker car all that distance. If you have a fairly new well maintained car, you probably will have no problem.
dc

[brianj]

In normal circumstances you really don't need food, beyond the usual road trip preparation that should look like you gave a six year old $40 and let them shop unsupervised.

But the OP expressed concern about an earthquake. Unless you have small children, you could easily stretch two days' worth of food to four or five days. Carry the water you can, keep empty bottles and refill them as you can, walk at night, and you can make it at least 100 miles if you are in decent shape.

[Z2100]

I try to keep a level head concerning end days prophecies, but anxiety coupled with all the recent disaster activity and the whole September 23 thing has admittedly kept me up at night. My family is going on vacation to California this weekend for a wedding. Nevermind that my garden will freeze. Between the small earthquakes in Utah and the 3.6 in LA recently I'm concerned about an earthquake happening in either place while we're gone. Apart from giving our home teacher a key to check on our home if needed, what can we do to prepare our home if there's an earthquake in Utah while we're gone? How can we prepare for an earthquake in California while we are vacationing there?

You’ll be fine. Don’t let the whole 23/9 thing scare you. Just be prepared for anything that comes your way!

[JohnnyL]

This isn't Mexico where the buildings are constructed so poorly that they collapse from the slightest wiggle.
dc

That's part of it, but there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not.

[brianj]

My family is going on vacation to California this weekend for a wedding.

So...


How was the trip?

[David13]

This isn't Mexico where the buildings are constructed so poorly that they collapse from the slightest wiggle.
dc

That's part of it, but there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not.

Be specific. How many have you survived.
I survived the last 44 years in California so count the number.
dc

[Yahtzee]

My family is going on vacation to California this weekend for a wedding.

So...


How was the trip?

Enjoyable and uneventful. Keeping some emergency prep ideas on our minds helped out with spontaneous scenic detours and LA traffic. There were some really good ideas posted here.
I of course feel ridiculous now for being worried, but, eh, it happens.

[JohnnyL]

This isn't Mexico where the buildings are constructed so poorly that they collapse from the slightest wiggle.
dc

That's part of it, but there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not.

Be specific. How many have you survived.
I survived the last 44 years in California so count the number.
dc

California, lol. Well then, I've survived at least two bigger ones than you. So what does that have to do with my comment? NOTHING.

It's a basic fact that there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not. That information is all over the internet.

[David13]

This isn't Mexico where the buildings are constructed so poorly that they collapse from the slightest wiggle.
dc

That's part of it, but there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not.

Be specific. How many have you survived.
I survived the last 44 years in California so count the number.
dc

California, lol. Well then, I've survived at least two bigger ones than you. So what does that have to do with my comment? NOTHING.

It's a basic fact that there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not. That information is all over the internet.

In other words, you are convinced earthquakes are some great calamity in California (remember this was a thread about visiting California) but you don't know, as you have never experienced anything there, but you sure know that it's a real big deal.
Does the name Chicken Little evoke any memories for you?
dc

[JohnnyL]

That's part of it, but there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not.

Be specific. How many have you survived.
I survived the last 44 years in California so count the number.
dc

California, lol. Well then, I've survived at least two bigger ones than you. So what does that have to do with my comment? NOTHING.

It's a basic fact that there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not. That information is all over the internet.

In other words, you are convinced earthquakes are some great calamity in California (remember this was a thread about visiting California) but you don't know, as you have never experienced anything there, but you sure know that it's a real big deal.
Does the name Chicken Little evoke any memories for you?
dc

Ah, I get it, you're looking for stuff like this:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_ ... earthquake
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... e-history/

Your post was about earthquakes. My reply was about earthquakes.

[David13]

Be specific. How many have you survived.
I survived the last 44 years in California so count the number.
dc

California, lol. Well then, I've survived at least two bigger ones than you. So what does that have to do with my comment? NOTHING.

It's a basic fact that there's much more to earthquakes collapsing buildings than if they are constructed well or not. That information is all over the internet.

In other words, you are convinced earthquakes are some great calamity in California (remember this was a thread about visiting California) but you don't know, as you have never experienced anything there, but you sure know that it's a real big deal.
Does the name Chicken Little evoke any memories for you?
dc

Ah, I get it, you're looking for stuff like this:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_ ... earthquake
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... e-history/

Your post was about earthquakes. My reply was about earthquakes.

Johnny, 1906? And you are holding your breath? L A Times "There COULD BE an Earthquake"?
Johnny, there could also be an outer space alien invasion. Should we worry and prepare?

You gave 3 cites, the most recent earthquake, in your lifetime (I think) 1992. 3 deaths? Out of 40 million people? Or Nearly 400 million in the whole United States?

And you think that's worrisome? You do realize your odds on that? You are about 100 times more likely to be struck by lightening. And when was the last time you were struck by lightening?

You are typical. Worry about the wrong things. Do you know the way you will most likely die, if not from natural causes? Auto accident. Not earthquake, not gunshot wound, not tsunami, but auto accident.

And what do you do? Drive a car.

Read the op's update. She went, there was no issue, and she feels a little silly about having any concern for any such thing.
As I say I only have 44 years experience living in the "earthquake capitol" of the US A. That pales, I know to your internet experience at it.
dc

[brianj]

How was the trip?

Enjoyable and uneventful. Keeping some emergency prep ideas on our minds helped out with spontaneous scenic detours and LA traffic. There were some really good ideas posted here.
I of course feel ridiculous now for being worried, but, eh, it happens.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Being a militant prepper and not going anywhere because it's going to hit the fan at any second will prevent us from enjoying life. But it's going to happen one day, so having a plan and knowing what you're going to do will keep you safer no matter what happens. I don't want to ever use life insurance, but when I have loved ones depending on me I will want to have the insurance just in case.

[Yahtzee]

Guys!! I know why I was paranoid. It wasn't the earthquake, it was antifa!!

http://heavy.com/news/2017/09/november- ... ifa-event/

We left CA on this day, on this highway!!
My biggest worry was a freeway shutdown/traffic preventing me from leaving. I think I had a premonition. Maybe I'll write a book. Luckily we decided (OR the Spirit told us, right??) to hit the beach before heading home and we missed this.
And that is why the Spirit is your best insurance against calamity.
Amen.
(And because it's the internet and things get taken wrong, this is typed with full sarcasm and all the lols. Except the spirit insurance part. That's totally legit. )