Emergency Water Options During an Earthquake

EmergencyWaterOptionsDuringAnEarthquakeDuring an earthquake, water pipes can easily be damaged and broken—cutting off your household, your neighbourhood or your entire city from access to clean water.

Living on Vancouver Island means that it could take longer than normal for help to arrive. That’s why we recommend being prepared for 2 weeks of self-sufficiency after an earthquake, if you live along the coast of British Columbia.

Having enough water to last you for 2 weeks is extremely important, but can be a big burden. The recommended amount of water to store is 4 litres (1 gallon) per person, per day. Even if you’re living alone, this means you’ll need to have 56 litres (14 gallons) of water stored. The 4 litres cover all cooking, drinking and hygiene needs. Figure on 2 litres for drinking.

If you’re able to remain in your home after an earthquake, this could work out well. You could simply purchase a few flats of our Blue Can Water, with a 50 year shelf life, or store water in a Super Tanker. But if you end up needing to move quickly to a safer location, or aren’t at home when an earthquake happens, then you will need a short term supply of water that can move with you.

That’s why it’s so important to not only stock your home, but also stock your vehicle, and find out where the emergency centre is at your workplace or at your school. Here are a few tips:

  1. Keep a supply of water in the trunk of your vehicle, but also have a water filter on hand—such as the LifeStraw Go—in case you need to proceed by foot. Be wary of keeping plastic water bottles in your car – the high temperatures reached in the summer time can cause the plastic to break down much sooner than the best before date.
  2. For schools, become familiar with the location the emergency centre, if there is one. Then ask about their water supply. If you don’t feel that they have enough water, encourage them to get better prepared. Offer to help update the program, if necessary!
  3. The same goes for your workplace. If you spend a lot of time there, then the chances that an earthquake will strike while you’re there are pretty high. Once again, if they are ill-prepared, do some research and offer to write a list, or even do the shopping for them. If your office staff is large enough, consider a Super Tanker! Ask if you can set up a meeting as well, where you can go over your emergency plan.

Humans can only survive a couple days without water, and even a few hours without water can be uncomfortable. So get prepared to stay hydrated no matter what the circumstance, no matter where you are, and help those around you get prepared as well!

 

Article contributed by Sophie Wooding – Avid gardener and cyclist in Victoria, BC and Content Writer for Frontier.io

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