For all of you who are not from California the thought of earthquakes is scary, I know. However, for many of us who have been here all our lives, they are still scary!
No matter how scary the thought of an earthquake may be, we as Californians have learned that preparedness is KEY to survival. The kids have drill at school once a month ranging from fire drills to earthquake drills. The bells ring differently to alert them of the supposed emergency happening and cue them as to what to do next. Today, was a California wide event called “The Great California Shake Out.” Over 5,000 Emergency responders from dozens of state, local, and federal agencies participated in “the nation’s largest state sponsored exercise” today according to www.shakeout.org.
One of the important aspects of today’s exercise for our children was the importance of doing what is necessary to stay safe. This has been quite controversial over the years. When I was growing up we were told to duck, cover and hold, which is apparently still being taught according to the website. The website discourages the practice of “the triangle of life” which is the idea of wedging yourself next to a couch or bed with the hopes of there being a void there for you if something should fall. You can learn more about the reasons that the government still suggests the Duck, Cover and Hold technique for survivability at http://www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/.
Today’s scenario was a 7.8 earthquake that hits on the San Andreas fault line. This is a scenario we have been preparing for since I was a young child and of course have not seen happen. Again, though, preparedness is the KEY here. Check out this U-Tube simulation developed by the Southern California Earthquake Center Shake Out Simulation workgroup:
My kids’ school sent notices about this drill home last Friday so that parents could talk to their kids about the importance of taking these drills seriously. We also had a four day weekend due to Veteran’s Day landing on a Tuesday this year. It provided ample time to talk to our kids without freaking them out and overwhelming them with information. I thought I did a nice job of that but low and behold, Zack, my eight year old, had a lot of questions this morning. To begin with, he wanted to know how I knew the earth was going to shake at 10 am. When I told him they were just pretending that it was shaking, he could not understand why that was necessary. “Mom, why do we have to pretend it shakes when we have felt it shake?” and “Mom, how do they make the earth shake in the whole state at once?” and my favorite, “Mom, why do they make it shake?”
When we were getting ready this morning, the news was full of images of preparing for the drill. The preparations from USC are what stick out in my mind because there were bloody people lying on the ground at 7 am when the drill wasn’t to start until 10 am. My son was uneasy with these images but for different reasons. I was thinking how boring it was going to be for that person laying there for 3 hours before it was even time to start and all the things I could do in 3 hours. And of course you can make me all bloody and I can still get stuff done in the mean time without having to lie on the ground for so long. But Zack, wanted to know how they got all bloody and the earth hadn’t shook yet? The news was talking about the size of the simulated earthquake and how much bigger it would feel than the Chino one that happened in August that my kids both remember well. He went back to wondering how they were gonna make the earth shake and why would they want to. Then he heard the unthinkable.1800 people are projected to die in an earthquake this size in California. “Mom, how did that many people die when the earth hasn’t started to shake?” I told him that the experts predict or guess that number based upon what they know about previous earthquakes and the outcome of those ones. He wasn’t having it. He doesn’t want the earth to shake and kill 1800 people while he is away from mommy and daddy.
Needless to say, my morning drop off was a little unsettling. As if it isn’t hard enough to think that this could happen while my children are away, but to send him off thinking that was harder than I thought it would be and all over an exercise.
When all was said and done today, I asked them how it went. And the drill that was supposed to last an hour so that the administrators and teachers could make sure they are organized and understand all the emergency procedures only lasted 20 minutes at my kids’ school. Hmmmmm.makes you wonder just how prepared the school is. And really, I need to prepare my kids for four days about taking this seriously when clearly the school had no intention of doing the same? I am disappointed in my kids’ school at the lack of effort and I am sure the excuse would be that it is too difficult to take that much time away from academics, but I bet they won’t think that way if and when it does happen during the school day (which of course I pray never happens).
The kids are fine. The kids are safe. And I hope today Californians learned something if not at the very least remembers the last big quake that they felt. I thought about the San Francisco, Northridge and Landers Quakes today and the nerves I had as a young child for days after and hope that my kids don’t have to experience earthquakes like those anytime soon. They were and are still unsettling to me, but I love Southern California and would rather have the surprise earthquake any day as long as I get to keep the great weather, no tornados, and no hurricanes, and the snow only happens in my front yard now and then (and not for very long).
My favorite thing this week is ASPARAGUS! I am really enjoying eating it. It has been the highlight of my meals lately. And did you know it is a natural diuretic? Yes, that is right ladies…eat it for a bit of help with water loss. A few days before a big event or a beach trip or pool party, have some asparagus and you’ll shed that bit of water weight. Now remember, it’s just water weight, so try to steer clear of sodium at the same time and it’ll work even better!!
My not so favorite thing this week is waiting between appointments for additional tests with the doctor to find out if something is wrong. Especially when it is about your kids. I wish there was an easier way. I understand that we are really getting things done pretty quickly, but I just want answers and wish they could be faster!
