The Eight Components of Earthquake Preparedness: #6 Communication

Water and food, heat, shelter and light are all top priorities when you’re preparing for an earthquake. It’s also incredibly important to have the ability to communicate during an earthquake, especially if it’s “the big one” and the mess takes a long time to clean up.

  1. Water
  2. Food
  3. Heat
  4. Shelter
  5. Light
  6. Communication
  7. First Aid
  8. Sanitation

Efficiency is key during an emergency. This means that when you’re preparing, you gather your household together and get everyone onto the same page. Even write out your earthquake plan, and distribute copies among your household members. When an earthquake strikes, you won’t want to waste any time. You’ll be thankful that everyone knows the steps.

Efficiency also means keeping a list of emergency contacts in your earthquake kit, including an out of province contact. Be sure to include a cell phone and charger in your kit as well. There are many devices which pull double duty as radios and cell phone chargers, or flashlights and cell phone charges and often all three!

Knowing that your cellphone is charged and ready to go will be a great comfort as you enter the unknown territory of traversing the aftermath of an earthquake. Texting, emailing or using social media is the best way to communicate, rather than calling on your cell phone. This is because text-based communication uses less bandwidth than calling and may work even when regular phone service is down. Limit non-emergency phone calls to keep from causing unnecessary network congestion. Here are two really good articles about how to use your phone during an emergency: one from GetPrepared.BC and another from US Federal Communications Commission.

Another great way to stay in touch with the outside world is through the use of a radio – especially a solar powered or hand crank radio that never runs out of juice. One feature to look for in a radio is an alert function feature that automatically broadcasts emergency weather alerts for your area. An excellent product that offers this feature is the FRX3 with Weather Radio & Charger.

It’s difficult to imagine what surviving a big earthquake looks like unless you’ve done it before. It’s probably safe to say that it would be a scary situation and the more prepared and rehearsed you are, the less scary it is!

For more information on what to do during an earthquake – and how to prepare – read through the Emergency Management BC: Earthquake Preparedness Consultation Report. Otherwise, stay tuned for our upcoming article on the importance of first aid during an earthquake.

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