Radio Emergency Alert System

The former Emergency Broadcasting System (EBS) has been replaced with the Emergency Alert System ( EAS). All FCC license holders are required to have special decoding devices for tones and be capable of sending information to the public, but the choice to broadcast is up to each station. In our area, only station KCBS 740 AM is required to read and acknowledge all EAS information. The exception is if the message comes directly from the President of the United States, in which case all stations have five seconds to disrupt current programming and broadcast EAS information.

The stations most likely to broadcast emergency information are:

KCBS 740 AM KGO 810 AM KLIV 1590 AM

SJ News 1340 AM (accessible only when activated by SJ City)

Emergency Preparedness Classes

The City of San Jose conducts emergency preparedness training classes for $10 each on earthquake preparedness, first aid, search and rescue, and fire safety at the Villages and in downtown San Jose. To see the schedule and register for classes go to:

http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/oes/sanjoseprepared/Classcal.htm

If you just want to know the basics about family safety, take Module 1 of this series of preparedness classes. You can take the other classes anytime – you don’t have to sign up for all four. One class may teach you all you need to protect your family and your neighborhood from any minor or major trauma. Module 1 in this series will be held in the San Jose Emergency Operations Center ( EOC) at 855 North San Pedro.

Classes are offered continually throughout the year -- see the website for class schedule. For those who have taken the first 4 classes already, there is now a free 5th module on Terrorism. To register, contact :

Bob Steinberg, 277-4598 or fax 277-3345

email: sjprepared@ci.sj.ca.us, or robert.steinberg@sanjoseca.gov

website: www.ci-san-jose.ca.us/oes/sanjoseprepared

“San Jose Prepared !” Classes

Mod 1: Home Preparedness (prerequisite for Mod 2—4)

Mod 2: Fire Suppression and Hazardous Materials

Mod 3: Disaster Medicine and Disaster Psychology

Mod 4: Light Search and Rescue

Mod 5: Graduation/Terrorism Presentation (free)

It’s 4 a.m. The house is shaking!! What do you do?

• Cover your head with a pillow to protect yourself from flying objects. Roll to the floor against the bed.
• When the shaking stops, grab the flashlight and sturdy shoes you stored under the bed (to protect your feet from broken glass).
• Check your children for injuries, your house for damage, gas leaks, and fires.
• Prepare for aftershocks: stay dressed, keep children away from furniture or objects that can move, fall, or collapse.
• Use a battery powered radio or TV, tune into KCBS 740 AM to find out the news.
• Look around the houses nearest you to see any evidence of problems: fire, gas leaks, trapped or injured people.
• If you have, or see, major problems, call 911. If phones are out, go to your closest neighbors to inform them of any dangers.
• If your neighborhood needs help, go to one of the CERT volunteers in your neighborhood for instructions on what to do.
• If you don’t know who the CERT team is in your neighborhood sector, then you don’t have one. Volunteer now, and become the person who may prevent inconvenience from becoming disaster on your street.

Don’t let your family be left without communications to someone who can help!

The Real Danger from Earthquakes

During an earthquake, the “solid” earth moves like the deck of a ship. The actual movement of the ground, however, is seldom the direct cause of injury. Most casualties result from falling objects and debris. In the new construction here in Silver Creek, it is unlikely that homes will collapse even in a major quake. What is very likely is that many large and small objects will topple over or launch across a room. Typical injuries are caused by:

• overturned bookcases, wall units, refrigerators;
• falling framed mirrors and pictures, chandeliers, decorative art and plants on high shelves and ledges;
• TVs, VCRs, computers, speakers, lamps that get launched across a room;
• dishes and food containers that push open upper kitchen cabinet doors and smash on counters;
• and flying glass from broken windows.

Once a floor is covered with spilled food and broken glass, getting out of the way of flying objects becomes more difficult. The best protection against these kinds of injuries is earthquake proofing your house:

• Secure tall cabinets, refrigerators with braces.
• Attach special straps to TVs, VCRs, PCs.
• Use earthquake latches on kitchen cabinets.
• Use museum wax to secure figurines and shelf art.
• Hang pictures with earthquake-proof hooks, or secure with heavy duty Velcro .
• Mount top-heavy statues and display pots on wide-based wood platforms using Bondo.
• Large display art on high ledges should be nailed down or mounted on platforms that are nailed down.

Keep it Simple

You know you need to earthquake-proof the house and plan for your family safety, but you’re too busy to remember what to do. Keep it simple and just take on just one tiny project this month – summer vacations are over, kids are back in school, holidays haven’t started yet, so this is the best time! Try to do just ONE of the following things:

While shopping at a hardware store:

• Buy 3 fire extinguishes, ABC rated – put one on each side of the master bed, and in the kitchen.
• Buy heavy duty gloves suitable for handling broken glass or hot handles. Put a pair in a bag under each side of an adult bed.
• Buy a wrench suitable for turning off your gas. Put it in a clear plastic bag and nail it to the wall inside of your garage door closest to the gas line.
• Buy extra garbage bags, kitty litter and chlorine to handle bathroom toilet needs in the event of water cutoff in a disaster.
• Buy earthquake-safety straps for TV, computers, other large equipment. Then they will be ready on the first rainy day you end up with a 20-minute window-of-opportunity to do a quick safety installation.
• Make an extra copy of your house and car keys, put them in a waist-pack under your bed.
  

While grocery shopping:

• Buy extra bottles of drinking water and canned or packaged food that doesn’t require heating or cooling.

While at the drug store:

• Buy a plastic storage container the size of 2 cartons of eggs, and make your own first aid kit by filling it with an assortment of Band-Aids, pain ointments, eye-wash drops, aspirin or Tylenol, anti-bacterial Handi-wipes, instant cold packs, and anything else you think you are likely to need. Store under your bed or in the bathroom.
• Buy a small waist-pack and fill it with a small supply of each of those first aid items from your kit, and keep the pack in your car.

After doing laundry:

• Take one set of socks, underwear, T-shirt, old pants, old sneakers, and sweatshirt for each person in the house, throw it in a plastic shopping bag (or nylon zippered sack) and store it under each person’s bed as a grab-and-run pouch.

On Halloween night:

• Use this opportunity to go with your kids and meet your closest neighbors! These are the people you will depend on in an emergency!

Emergency Contact to SJ City

The San Jose Prepared! program depends on HAM radios when it comes to communicating during a disaster when phones lines are blocked or cut off. However, if phones are still working, anyone can use them effectively, and if you have extensive information or printed material to communicate, fax is much better than voice.

In the event of a serious incident when the Emergency Operations Center ( EOC) would be activated, there are dedicated phone lines specifically for emergency reports from San Jose Prepared members and neighborhood organizations. These phone numbers are normally office numbers for the people who work in that building, but EOC personnel will answer them during emergencies. They are:

Voice and phonemail: 277-2942
Fax: 277-3345
Email: SJPrepared@ci.sj.ca.us

These phone numbers are only for emergency use, but if we have a serious incident and you need to communicate with San Jose Prepared! EOC personnel, please use them!

What Help San Jose Provides

There are 920,000 residents in San Jose, with 63 Emergency Response vehicles (fire, haz-mat, and rescue trucks) and 16 ambulances, each with their team.

• That is one ER team per nearly 15,000 residents.
• That is one ambulance team per 57,000 residents.

In an emergency, their priority is take care of the sites with the greatest potential for wide-scale disaster and escalation: urban centers, major freeways, hospitals, hazardous material sites, collapsed high-rises, major fires, or major rescue operations. In a large earthquake, police stations, fire stations, and hospitals are as likely to be damaged as any other location, and the first priority will be to put those facilities in working order before moving out to other needy sites.

It usually takes 72 hours to mobilize the National Guard, FEMA, and the American Red Cross. A lot could happen while you are waiting for these organizations to respond to your call for help. If phones are out, you may never even get to make a call. That is when you become dependent on your closest neighbors for survival.

Become a good neighbor, and learn how to help each others families in private emergencies and major disasters through the San Jose Prepared! training classes. To register for classes, call Dr. Earl Stevens at 277-4598.

Back-to-School Pack for Kids

While organizing your child’s back-to-school pack with their notebooks and pencils, consider including a special instruction package to notify teachers or other adults how to contact you or others in the event an emergency.

A one-page instruction sheet should include:

• List of adult age family members, their day and night phone numbers, pager and cell numbers, and address;
• List of neighbors/friends willing to care for your children if you can’t be reached, and their numbers;
• A family/friend contact outside the area to contact if a local earthquake or disaster jams local phone lines;
• List of any medications your child might need if he has to stay overnight without your supervision; and
• A description of any special needs (psychological, emotional, medical) adults should know about.

This instruction sheet should be inside a sturdy clear plastic envelope like the zippered pencil holders used in binders, and inserted in your child’s school backpack. Let your child know that in an emergency, they should give this envelope to a teacher, bus driver, or other adult. You could also include photos of family members and others authorized to pick up your child in an emergency.

Make sure your child understands what he should do in an emergency if parents or usual caregivers cannot be contacted. Let him know that he will be cared for until you arrive to pick him up.

Emergency Kid Pack

While you are buying a knapsack for schoolbooks, pick up a second pack to hold your child’s emergency kit. Put in a complete set of comfortable clothes, including underwear, shoes, and sweatshirt. Also include extra eye glasses, medication, and a comforting toy, anything necessary for an overnight emergency until you can get to a store. Keep it under his bed so in a fire, earthquake, or any emergency, you can grab it and run.

Neighborhood Buddy System

In an emergency it is important that your neighbors know if and when you’re are likely to be home, where to reach you if you are at work or on vacation, and where your kids should go if you don’t get home from work on time. Storms, earthquakes, fires, traffic, or just personal events could create a need to find you, and if no one knows where to look, problems could go unresolved.

The easy solution is to develop a buddy system with 2 or 3 or your neighbors. Get to know them and let them know your family routine and vacation plans so they will know when you are likely to be home or out. Give them phone numbers to reach you at your office, your vacation hotel, and your mother’s house on holidays, and keep updating the list regularly.

Exchange house keys and security codes, so if there is damage to your home in your absence, or a possibility that you could be trapped inside (or outside), neighbors can get in to check things out without breaking down the door. Acquaint your pets with your neighbors so if someone has to come inside, the dog or cat won’t bite and can be fed or walked outside.

Have a back-up plan for where your kids should go if you are not home when they get home from school. Have two or three options with nearby neighbors. Be sure to have your kids or the neighbor leave a note at your house explaining the situation.

Under-the-Bed Emergency Kit

In a nighttime earthquake or fire, you don’t want to go looking for clothes and shoes before you are ready to move to safety or check on your children. You may need to protect yourself from broken glass on the floor, and keep warm and dry if you have to go outside. The easy way to be ready to evacuate your house in a hurry is to keep an emergency pack under each person’s bed that you can grab on-the-run without being too encumbered.

A small bag or backpack should contain:

• all necessary layers of clothing (underwear and socks, T-shirt and sweatshirt, pants), a hat and rain poncho,
• sturdy shoes that can walk on broken glass, and
• a pair of sturdy leather gloves that will allow you to handle broken glass or a hot doorknob without injury

Include a waist pack with:

• important convenience items like eye glasses or contact lenses, regular medications, and first aid supplies,
• extra keys to the house, in case you need to get back into the house a different way than you came out,
• extra keys to your cars in case you need to back the cars out of the garage quickly,
• extra cash and/or credit cards in case you can’t get back into the house and need emergency shelter or supplies,
• copies of health insurance cards and drivers license, and
• a photo identification in each person’s waist pack in case they get lost, injured, or unconscious.

It is also a good idea to keep a flashlight and a fire extinguisher next to your bed so you won’t have to go hunting for one in the dark during a power failure or in a smoke-filled room during a fire.

Home Alone?

If you are alone (or with just small children) in the house when an earthquake hits or a fire starts, you could be injured or trapped without anyone to help you. It may be a long wait until an adult family member comes home or a rescue team comes to look for people in need. Your closest neighbors are the people most likely to suspect something is wrong and call for help, if they know for sure someone is home.

Talk to your neighbors and let them know your schedule:

• when you are traveling on vacation,
• when your child comes home from school,
• when your spouse is on a trip,
• when you typically come home from work, and
• what your daily routine is.

If your life is endangered, you probably won’t mind if someone breaks down your front door to save you, but if you are on vacation when the rescue team decides to break in and look for you, you have lost a door and the rescue team has wasted time.

Give a trusted neighbor a key to your house so they can come over and check on things if your security alarm goes off, your dog starts barking frantically, or an earthquake hits. Get to know your closest neighbors. Be there for them, and help them be there for you.

Earthquakes around the world

On Dec. 22, 2003 Paso Robles and Cambrian in the central California coast had a 6.5 earthquake that killed 2 people and destroyed 1 block of buildings. Four days later, on Dec. 26 th Iran had a 6.6 quake that leveled their city and killed 25-30,000 people. The next day, on Dec. 27 there was a 7.3 earthquake that no one heard about because it was so far off the coast of Australia that it did no damage. As of Jan. 6, there were 20 earthquakes in the world of a magnitude > 5 in just the last week.

Big earthquakes happen every day, whether or not you feel them, or hear about them. Being in a well-designed house provides structural safety, but if you still have lots of heavy, unsecured items on shelves and ledges that can come flying across the room at your head, it might still feel like your world is coming down when a quake happens here. See: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov.

Secure your china cabinets, your TVs, VCR’s, framed pictures and mirrors, refrigerator, decorative pots and artwork, and anything else that is at chest level or above that you don’t want flying at your body. It could save your life.

“It was boom, boom, boom!”

"It was boom boom boom, like someone pulling up and down on your house...Stuff was shaking, there was a little bounce, then a big bounce and then it stopped."

Napa , Sunday, Sept. 3, 1:36 a.m.

It was a 5.2 earthquake—moderate by geological standards. The Loma Prieta quake that hit the Bay Area Oct. 17 1989 was 100 times stronger. It was on a fault line nobody knew about, in a town that hadn't felt an earthquake since the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

"There was so much stuff falling and flying around, we just lay there holding onto each other. It was like someone picked up the house and shook it."

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, "These little fives can occur anywhere in the Bay Area. We call them background seismicity. The Bay Area is laced with hundreds and even thousands of faults."

"Let me tell you, I was a marine in Vietnam and this felt just like one of those rocket attacks."

About 25 people reported minor injuries, mostly from falling objects. Two others were hurt more seriously, and a 5 year old boy was nearly crushed by a collapsing fireplace. Over 10,000 businesses and homes lost power. Water and gas mains were broken. The quake shifted several 450 pound wine barrels.

"I fell off my bed, and everything flew off my desk."

Aisles were littered with shattered glass and cereal boxes. In a liquor store, 200 bottles had fallen to the floor. In homes, books tumbled from shelves, televisions crashed to the floor, dishes smashed on kitchen floors, a jar of pickled onions flew out of a cabinet and shattered on the floor. A red brick chimney collapsed, littering the front walkway with debris. Another chimney collapsed on three sleeping boys.

"I tell you, it really shook--like a bomb went off in my driveway."

Tomorrow night, 4:30 a.m., registering 6.9, in Silver Creek. Are you ready?

Earthquakkkkkkkes!!

The best place to ride it out:

In a light shaker: under a sturdy table (to protect from falling objects) See FEMA site for Drop, Cover, Hold instructions: http://www.fema.gov/hazards/earthquakes/nehrp/hold.shtm

In a big earthquake: beside a solid bed or couch (in the event the entire ceiling or large objects collapse above you, leaving you in a “triangle of life” air pocket)

See American Rescue site for Triangle of Life strategy: http://www.amerrescue.org/knowledge.htm

In any earthquake: against a solid wall, away from windows and overhead objects.

Solution—if you are in a bad location : Move on hands and knees if necessary to get to a safer place. Hold onto a table, or crouch against a solid wall, and cover your head. Doorways with doors are dangerous due to moving doors and slammed fingers.

The worst danger during the quake: panic.

Doing irrational things like running outside instead of crouching or throwing a child “to safety” out a 2 nd story window. Many injuries are caused by panic behavior.

Solution : Learn what to do now, and teach your children.

The most dangerous place: your kitchen.
Refrigerators fall open, dishes fly out of cabinets. Broken glass and spilled food make walking nearly impossible.

Solution : cabinet safety latches, velcro straps for refrigerators.

The most likely injury: head/face injury from flying object.

The building won’t collapse, but you may if you are knocked unconscious.

Solution : museum wax to hold free standing art, velcro tabs to hold VCRs, and thumb-lock straps for TVs and computers, hook-and-eyes screwed into high furniture and wall studs linked with hooks, chains, or cables.

Objects

During an earthquake, the “solid” earth moves like the deck of a ship. The actual movement of the ground, however, is seldom the direct cause of injury. Most casualties result from falling objects and debris. In the new construction here in Silver Creek, it is unlikely that homes will collapse even in a major quake. What is very likely is that many large and small objects will topple over or launch across a room. Typical injuries are caused by:

• overturned bookcases, wall units, refrigerators;
• falling framed mirrors and pictures, chandeliers, decorative art and plants on high shelves and ledges;
• TVs, VCRs, computers, speakers, lamps that get launched across a room;
• dishes and food containers that push open upper kitchen cabinet doors and smash on counters;
• and flying glass from broken windows.

Once a floor is covered with spilled food and broken glass, getting out of the way of flying objects becomes more difficult. The best protection against these kinds of injuries is earthquake proofing your house:

• Secure tall cabinets, refrigerators with braces.
• Attach special straps to TVs, VCRs, PCs.
• Use earthquake latches on kitchen cabinets.
• Use museum wax to secure figurines and shelf art.
• Hang pictures with earthquake-proof hooks, or secure with heavy duty Velcro .
• Mount top-heavy statues and display pots on wide-based wood platforms using Bondo.
• Large display art on high ledges should be nailed down or mounted on platforms that are nailed down.
• Consider film treatments for windows that may reduce flying glass.

Remember: never place anything on walls or shelves above a bed that could fall on a sleeping person.

Hardware stores now carry all the special braces, latches, and other earthquake proofing materials described above. R. S. Hughes carries industrial Velcro and fasteners: 408-739-3211 at 1162 Sonora Ct., Sunnyvale.