"Ready, Set, Go...Prepare!!!

By Loren Stamper, Head of Technical Services, Legal Research Center at the University of San Diego.

On Thursday, April 17, 1997, I attended the SILDRN (San Diego/Imperial County Libraries Disaster Response Network) workshop on earthquake preparedness for libraries. The program was very interesting and full of good information.

He says the biggest problem in San Diego is an attitude problem: San Diegans seem to think "it won't happen here--these things just happen to L.A. and San Francisco." Then he gave us some sobering facts.

• There are more than 150,000 earthquakes in California each year.
• San Diego has 300-400 earthquakes each week.
• San Diego is long overdue for a major earthquake, such as the Northridge earthquake.

He showed us a map of the faults that directly affect California--many more than you might think. Several short faults pass under San Diego. The most dangerous is the Rose Canyon fault.

We watched [It's Academic: Emergency Preparedness for Schools], a video produced by California State University, Northridge (CSUN) on the earthquake that hit there a couple of years ago. They had 53 buildings that were completely unusable. Most had severe structural damage, and some were destroyed by fire. The theme of this video was the horrible consequence of not being prepared for such a disaster, underscored by CSUN's extreme fortune that the earthquake just happened to occur very early in the morning and between semesters, when very few students, faculty, or staff were on campus. The president of CSUN made a decision to open the university again as soon as possible. In one month they "rebuilt" their organization. They worked out of trailers and tents, hooked up computers to recompile as much organizational information as possible, and registered students without the aid of student records, so they couldn't even be sure the students had really been enrolled previously. Classes were held outdoors, next to the commotion of bulldozers and jackhammers.

Susan Asturias, Operations Officer for the San Diego County Office of Disaster Preparedness, spoke on "What to Expect after a Major Earthquake." She focused on work and home situations and the types of things we might not expect or be prepared for: closed roads, power lines down, little or no phone service, emergency crews unable to respond because of overwhelming demand for their help, criminal activity, etc. She stressed the importance of staying in the workplace if possible when a major earthquake occurs, and to expect to have to stay there for up to three days. You might be in great danger trying to drive or walk home. She outlined various measures to take now to be personally prepared: have a 3-day supply of water (even at work), learn how to turn off the gas supply (if you must; it is better not to do so if you do not smell gas or hear a gas leak), have an out-of-area code contact for your family (phone lines may not work in the area code where the earthquake took place). Also, when shaking starts:

• Stay in the building.
• Move away from windows, bookcases, and other tall furniture.
• Get under a desk or table. If none is nearby grab something to use as a shield and put it over your head.
• Get out of the kitchen.
• Don't go more than 6 feet to take cover.
• Wheelchair users should try to get to a safe spot and then lock their wheels.
• React IMMEDIATELY if you feel shaking! Don't pause to see if it's a "real earthquake."
• Take flashlights (which you have handy--with batteries--because you were prepared!) and check for injured people; check the utilities to make sure there is no imminent danger of gas explosions, etc.; shut off utilities only if necessary.
• Fill the bathtub with water if the water is still working. (Even if water main is broken, there should still be some potable water in pipes--try to get as much of it as you can.)
• She also listed some supplies you should have on hand: A MINIMUM of 1/2 gallon of drinking water per person per day (one gallon per person per day would be better), packaged food that keeps well
• A non-electric can opener
• Radios and flashlights with extra batteries
• Any medications you need to take
• First aid kits
• Phone books-they contain good information sections for emergencies, etc.
• Fire extinguishers
• A crescent wrench and a crowbar (you may need them to turn off utilities, etc.)
• Alternate cooking sources
• Provide for your pets' needs
• Spare cash (your ATM card might not work!)
• Sanitation supplies (including hundreds of plastic bags, toilet paper, baby wipes, etc.)
• Rubber gloves
• Sunscreen, in case you have to stay outside in the sun all day

She also spoke about preparing for disaster with mutual aid agreements, an employee warning communication system, and a damage assessment procedure.

Peggy Wagner, Director of Operations, Employee Assistance Program, Health and Human Resources, gave some "Strategies to Help Employees Deal with the Emotional Response to Disasters." She stressed being prepared to respond to basic needs, e.g., food, water, shelter, clothing, security. Besides employees, you may need to help respond to the basic needs of medical personnel and "heroes," who often have severe emotional reactions as well. In addition, be prepared to look at the losses suffered by those around you: loss of loved ones, loss of significant personal property, loss of control in their lives, loss of faith ("how could this happen?"), loss of trust, loss of identity and plans for the future, and loss of a basic feeling of safety ("what will happen next?"). One of the best things you can do is to just stay with someone who is having a strong emotional reaction--comfort them and share information about your own losses as well. For additional information, see Strategies to Help Employees Deal with the Emotional Response to Disaster

Mike Scheffler of Yamada Enterprises and Mike Mogelinski, Director of Library Facilities at UCSD, spoke about structural damage and what to expect, especially with library shelving. They presented a slide show with pictures of earthquake-damaged shelving and improper vs. proper shelving structure and reinforcement:

1. Sway braces (large, X-shaped rods behind the shelves, bracing against a lengthwise collapse)

2. Overhead bracing to prevent toppling over and the "domino effect"

3. Anchoring:
Gusseting - gussets are triangular pieces that reinforce the posts in the shelving
Floor anchors - anchor unit into concrete
Base shelf bolted to the frame
Wall brackets - frame bolted to studs, not just into the drywall.
L-brackets-to strengthen end panels, which can help to support the entire unit if attached correctly.

4. Use shelves with back units to help keep books from falling off the back of the shelves.

5. Bungee cords can be used to restrain materials and prevent their falling to the floor. (Not practical for high-use shelving, but consider this for archival and low-use shelving.)

6. Load microform cabinets from the bottom up. Top-heavy microform cabinets can fall over more easily and injure people.

7. Interconnect microform cabinets with braces or rods--the more cabinets linked together the greater their stability.

8. Always choose solid steel shelving rather than wood, particle board, or other materials. If a wood decor is desired, use wooden end panels, not shelving made entirely of wood.

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