April 8, 2014 Salt Lake City: Earthquakes can be scary. Growing up in California, sitting on top of the famous San Andreas Fault, earthquake drills were a constant. As a kid I remember crouching under my desk, my hands laced behind my neck imagining the school shaking apart and what might happen to my dog Synbad, at home. When a 6.4 quake hit the San Fernando Valley in February 9th, 1971 we watched as a huge chandelier hanging over our dining room table crashed on top of it impaling the tablecloth in the floor. Of course we were all safely ensconced under door jambs scared to death, but afterwards we were knocked breathless by the power and fierceness of the earth and Mother Nature. On March 30th, 2014 a quake hit Yellowstone leading to speculation that we might be close to the predicted Super Volcano event. Predictions that this super volcano eruption would put Salt Lake City squarely in the ‘kill zone’ was sobering. We live perilously close to danger. And the recent 8.2 earthquake that shook northern Chile and surrounding countries on April 1st was no April Fool’s joke. We do not live far either from the Pacific Rim and the so-called Ring of Fire, two plates underneath the earth’s surface that occasionally bump up against other plates. The Ring of Fire affects South American, the California coast, Alaska, the Philippines, and basically any place around the Pacific Rim. A 9.0 quake that hit Japan and caused the Fukushima meltdown in 2011 was on the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. An estimated 17 million people felt the 5.1 earthquake in California and I learned about it in real time when Facebook postings started popping up; “Wow, what was that?” – “A real jolt” – “Earthquake hits” – all of these recent quakes has led to all kinds of speculation about what will happen next. And it should. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature and being prepared for such events decreases the loss of life and property damage. There are many ways to prepare for a quake. One of them is to download a helpful app – the American Red Cross has an earthquake app — http://www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/earthquake-app with helpful information. Receive alerts and notifications when an earthquake occurs, prepare your family and home, find help and let others know you are safe even if the power is out – a must have for anyone who lives in an earthquake-prone area or has loved ones who do. From your mobile phone, call “**REDCROSS” (**73327677) and we will send you a link to download the quake alert app to your iPhone or Android device or you can download them directly from the iTunes or Google Play app stores. Finally, of great relief is the low number of deaths that resulted from the devastating earthquake in Chile. The question is why? And the answer is Chile has stringent building codes that make safer buildings and the people of Chile are prepared for an emergency. If you and your family wants to be prepared consider an EMT class, a AED and CPR class and a Wilderness First Aid class if you are one of the many millions of avid outdoorsmen that live here. Call us at 801.449.0749 for more information.
