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Show Earthquakes: k 72 Hour Survival Kit By MARK D. MICKELSEN WOODS CROSS Each year 1,000 or more earthquakes are recorded at seismo-logical seismo-logical stations along the Wasatch Front. FORTUNATELY, ONLY a handful of the underground tremors are ever felt by anyone, or cause any real damage. But like a car accident, no one knows when an earthquake will happen or how extensive the damage will be. TERRELL BIRD, a Woods Cross city councilman andCivil Defense coordinator, says Utah's earthquakes are markedly different dif-ferent from those in California because the fault line along the Wasatch Front moves vertically, rather than horizontally like the San Andreas Fault which winds along the California coastline. So how does Davis County prepare for the eventual shifting of that fault? Really, says Mr. Bird, there is not much anyone can do to totally prepare for this kind of emergency. CIVIL DEFENSE experts suggest that homeowners bolt down their water heaters. hea-ters. The overturned heaters often result in damaging fires and cause much of the aftermath after-math destruction of the earthquake, according to Councilman Bird. In addition, families are urged to set up a 72-hour survival kit for their home. Aside from food and a good supply of drinking water, Mr. Bird said parents should include some types of tension-relieving articles for the children like coloring books, or toys. SEISMOLOGICAL experts and scientists scien-tists nationwide are moving closer to the time when regular earthquake prediction methods will be used to alert people to the danger, he added. "We should be looking at what we would do if somebody finally came to us and said, 'Okay, on July 16 we're going to have an earthquake that'll be approximately 7.0 on the Richter Scale.' "IF WE HAVE a major earthquake," he explained, "7.0 or up. there are going to be some major effects." People shouldn't be fooled into believing that just because they are 20 or 30 miles away from an active fault zone they'll ex-cape ex-cape the major effects and damage of the quake, he explained further. "With an earthquake ear-thquake that doesn't mean anything. There's just as much shaking 20 miles away as there is right next to it (quake center)." i THE SAFEST TYPES of structures to be ( in are either frame homes or frame homes ! with brick veneer. Solid masonry homes, , says Mr. Bird, unless they are steel rein-! rein-! forced, will have problems. v Since there are so many older homes '.. throughout Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front in general, anosince many of those ". don't meet the new earthquake construc-; construc-; tion code requirements, residents of those older areas can be in grave danger when an earthquake occurs. ACCORDING TO Mr. Bird, however, residential neighborhoods are only one of the high risk areas. "The thing that scares me," he said, "is that all of our schools that are 20 or 30 years old are not steel reinforced. So then what happens to our children?" COUNCILMAN BIRD said it is not hard to relocate people for a short time while they get their lives back together, but when major damage is incurred throughout the educational facilities, "how do you go out and build a new school?" Another problem, especially in Woods Cross, is the fact that several refineries have major gas, oil and fuel lines running under the city. The question, according tc Councilman Bird, is whether or not joints connecting the pipes can withstand a large scale earthquake. THE CHANCES OF major structural damage to residential homes is estimated to be minor if the home foundation is relatively relative-ly solid, Mr. Bird noted. "But if it (home) is built on an artificial base, which is man-made fill," the councilman council-man said, there is a good chance that the foundation will separate or crack, or the house will sink further into the ground. HE NOTED that several major condominium condomi-nium projects along the Wasatch Front have used the artificial fill foundations. Developers wanting to build to the west of Woods Cross may have to wait some time before construction plans will be 72 HOUR HOME EMERGENCY KIT Immediately Available Food Battery-powered radio Ready-to-eat (unbreakables) Flashlight and extra Meats batteries (stored separately) Canned fruit, vegetables Peanut butter Emergency Needs Powdered milk Instruction manuals on emergency Infant care: canned milk i preparedness bottles Water storage (12 gal. liquid per Canned juices person per day) Dried fruit; (CAUTION: drink Sleeping bags & blankets (wool 4 thermal) plenty of water) Can opener Crackers Utility knife Security Food Sanitation Kit Sugar cookies Plastic bucket with tightly fitted lid Sweetened cereals Plastic bags and ties Hard candy Toilet paper Disinfectant (i.e. betadine, bleach, lysol) STANDARD FIRST AID KIT Improvised toilet seat First Aid Manual Feminine hygienic needs Aspirin or pain relievers Paper towels Laxatives Soap Rubbing Alcohol Disposable cups, plates, utensils Diarrhea medicine Toiletries Petroleum jelly Soap Stress Factors Baking Soda (12 t. soda Children It. salt lqt. water for shock) Coloring book Salt Crayons Gauze Adults Triangular Bandage - 36"x36"x52" Books, magazines, games, needle Elastic Bandage work and other items as needed. Cotton Balls Cotton Swabs A Class ABC fire extinguisher is Safety Pins recommended for each home. Scissors Thermometer Some families may need a large Sanitary napkins (Pressure container (such as a 32-gallon dressing) garbage can) to hold all items. Disposable Diapers (Dressing or Individual backpacks may be used. splint padding) Micropore, adhesive, paper tape This 72 hour kit should meet the Matches needs of your family. Use hobbies Needle and entertainment your family likes Tweezers to do, ready-to-eat foods your Small splints, popsicle sticks family enjoys, and individual medi- Heavy string cation as required by your own family Syrup of Ipecac members. Individual Medical Needs Car Standard First Aid Kit Flashlight & Batteries Blanket' Reflectors & Flares . .,. . . ...... Shovel 4 Kx 1 - : : - ? J i J ''"'- - ; -'J ":'-- -';- ; '.: ,: ...... - ,v:oS. t approved, he added. THE PROBLEM is water in the area has saturated the soil to such a degree that any building there runs the risk of sinking into the ground in an earthquake, or at any time. "In an earthquake, in areas of high soil liquefaction," he said, "for a few seconds during the major shaking, whatever's built on there is actually only sitting on water." WHILE THE RESULTS of any earthquake earth-quake are devastating to some degree, Mr. Bird believes panic prevention is the best possible way to avoid multiple deaths and serious injuries. Woods Cross, like few other cities in the county, has begun to formulate neighborhood neighbor-hood zone areas, each with its own zone leader a man or woman trained in Civil Defense emergency procedures who can direct the victims to shelter, safety and other members of their family. 'ASIDE FROM securing the water heater and maintaining a 72-hour supply of food, water and other necessities, Councilman Bird says "there's not much else that can be done ahead of time to prepare for an earthquake except for knowing what you're going to do. "If we have an earthquake of 7.0 or less, there will be damage and some injury, but it may not be of major proportions," he said, adding, however, that if Davis County has an earthquake of 7.0 or greater, "the destruction des-truction is going to be almost total." "WE ARE getting approximately 1,000 earthquakes a year," he added, noting that most are under 3.0 on the Richter Scale and cannot be felt by residents most of the time. In Woods Cross' program, the idea is "to try to reduce the panic," he said, "so people peo-ple can start helping each other." "PANIC IS caused when people don't know what to do. The biggest problem is making people aware," Councilman Bird said. But the key is, the councilman said, "We've got to help civilians help civilians. "THEY (CITIZENS) have elected us to look out for us." |