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The Great ShakeOut, Pandemic Edition. We're Here To Help Get You Ready For An Earthquake
Jacob Margolis, host of the podcast The Big One: Your Survival Guide spent months learning how to make the best earthquake survival kit. Do you know what you need? (LAist)
Southern California is earthquake country. Last month's 4.5 rattler reminded us of that.
This morning (10:15 a.m. to be precise) marks the Great ShakeOut — an annual statewide earthquake drill.
With so many people working and studying from home and often with improvised furniture arrangements, our science reporter Jacob Margolis has help for your quake prep.
"Throughout your house, you should make sure you strap down heavy objects like dressers, or mirrors... buy some straps off the internet and you could drill them into studs and connect the other part to whatever heavy object might tip over and potentially hurt someone. That has the added benefit, if you have kids, of protecting them from objects tipping over on top of them."
Great ShakeOut day is also a reminder that being earthquake ready includes being insured against quake damage. Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies won't cover you. But policies bought from a private insurance company or the California Earthquake Authority will.
The authority was created by the state after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. We talked to CEO Glenn Pomeroy:
"A person pays in accordance to what their risk is. In the L.A. area, earthquake insurance is really relatively affordable, even though there's so much risk around here. And for people who rent, earthquake insurance is really inexpensive and everyone ought to check it out."
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THE BIG ONE IS COMING. GET PREPARED
We don't want to scare you, but the Big One is coming. We don't know when, but we know it'll be at least 44 times stronger than Northridge and 11 times stronger than the Ridgecrest quakes last year. To help you get prepared, we've compiled a handy reading list:
- Your Guide To Surviving The Big One
- For Earthquakes, Forget The 'Go-Bag.' Here's How To Prepare
- How To Not Get Life-Threatening Diarrhea After A Major Earthquake
- 10 Earthquake-Related Questions To Ask Your Landlord Immediately
- Listen to Our Podcast The Big One: Your Survival Guide
And here's Jacob's guide to assembling your quake kit:
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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