How To: Make An Earthquake Kit

Have you ever had the chance to experience a 7.8 magnitude earthquake? I have and believe me, it is really scary. Japan was rocked with an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, and a lot of people lost their lives. The ones that survived now have to rebuild their homes and their lives. The earthquake that I experienced happened on July 16, 1990. I can still remember everything clearly.

We felt the quake around 4:30 pm. I remember I was at home sleeping. I had just gotten out of school, and I was resting. I felt the bed move, and I woke up to my mom’s voice screaming and calling us. I ran down the stairs and could see everything moving. My brother was very young then, so my dad carried him. The cabinets all opened up, and the canned food fell on the floor. I could see the refrigerator moving from side to side. It almost toppled over, and my older brother stood next to it and tried to hold it up. The earthquake did not really last that long. I believe it lasted for less than 10 minutes, but at that time, it felt like it had been going on for an hour.

After it was over, we had lots of broken plates and glasses to clean up, and a huge crack in the wall. We were very fortunate that we only had that much damage. There were a lot of people who suffered that day. I found a very interesting video that I believe everyone should watch. The message of the video is about the importance of being prepared for a crisis. The video features Mark Benthein who is the Director of Outreach at the Southern California Earthquake Center. He gives valuable advice about the tools we all need to have at home, the types of food we need to have stored, and the plan that you and your family should take in case of an emergency.

Image Credit: [bofotolux / Shutterstock]