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How can I earthquake proof my house?

Secure ceiling lights, suspended ceilings and other hanging items such as chandeliers and plants to the permanent structure of your house. Apply safety film to windows and glass doors. Anchor large appliances to walls using safety cables or straps. Lock the rollers of any large appliances or pieces of furniture.

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Many people may think earthquakes are limited to California and Alaska, but the reality is that anyone west of the Rockies and even parts of the East Coast are in an earthquake zone.

Is Your Home and Family Prepared if Another 'Big One' Comes Along?

If you live in an earthquake prone area, here are some tips from the Institute for Business & Home Safety to make sure you're prepared.

Planning for an Earthquake

Become familiar with your community's disaster preparedness plans and create a family plan with escape routes, an emergency meeting place and a contact point to communicate with concerned relatives. Make certain all adult and teenage family members know where your gas, electric and water main shutoff controls are and how to turn them off if there is a leak or electrical short. Keep necessary tools close by.

Put together an emergency kit.

Inside Your House

Fit gas appliances with flexible connections and/or a breakaway gas shut-off device, or install a main gas shut-off device.

Secure water heater(s) to walls.

Anchor bookcases and filing cabinets to walls.

Install latches on drawers and cabinet doors to keep contents from spilling out. Install ledge barriers on shelves, place heavy items on lower shelves, and secure large, heavy items and breakables directly to shelves.

Attach computers and small appliances to desks, tables or countertops.

Secure ceiling lights, suspended ceilings and other hanging items such as chandeliers and plants to the permanent structure of your house.

Apply safety film to windows and glass doors.

Anchor large appliances to walls using safety cables or straps. Lock the rollers of any large appliances or pieces of furniture.

The House Itself

If the structural elements of your home need reinforcing, some of the most important and common retrofits include: Bracing the inside of your home's cripple wall — the short wood-stud wall between the top of the foundation wall and the first floor — with sheathing.

Bracing unreinforced chimneys, masonry and concrete walls and foundations.

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What are the 3 main earthquakes?

Three Kinds of Earthquakes Shallow fault earthquakes. A fault is a break in the rock beneath our feet. ... Subduction zone earthquakes. The largest earthquakes ever recorded are subduction zone earthquakes. ... Deep earthquakes. Deep earthquakes occur in the subducting ocean slab, deep beneath the continental crust.

Three Kinds of Earthquakes Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are three kinds of earthquakes: subduction zone earthquakes, shallow fault earthquakes, and deep earthquakes. All of these earthquake types can be Big Ones.

Shallow fault earthquakes

A fault is a break in the rock beneath our feet. Shallow fault quakes occur very close to the surface. Only recently, we’ve discovered a fault beneath Seattle and right across Puget Sound. There was a major quake on this Seattle fault about 1,100 years ago. Because shallow fault earthquakes are so near the surface, even small ones cause a lot of damage from shaking.

Subduction zone earthquakes

The largest earthquakes ever recorded are subduction zone earthquakes. They can last several minutes. Subduction zone shaking can occur along the whole subduction zone. In the Pacific Northwest, these major quakes seem to occur every few hundred years. The last known subduction zone earthquake along the Oregon and Washington coast was January 26, 1700. In addition to causing huge shifts in land level here, this quake sent huge waves— tsunamis— racing across the Pacific.

Deep earthquakes

Deep earthquakes occur in the subducting ocean slab, deep beneath the continental crust. In the Pacific Northwest, deep quakes start about 50 km (30 mi) beneath the surface. Large ones have shaken the Pacific Northwest in 1949, 1965, and 2001—about every 30 years. The last big deep quake—the 2001 Nisqually earthquake—occurred under the southern end of Puget Sound. Next Page

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