What Is Earthquake Insurance?

By Keisha Seaton

True, the earth, we live in, is the most beautiful of the planets in the solar system. But in order to live in this charming place, we need to put up with its negative sides a well - natural disasters and earthquakes to name a few in this regard. To a larger extent, we humans are helpless in anticipating an earthquake. Who knows what providence has in store for us. The closest thing one can do is to remain prepared for the worse mentally and financially. In this article we talk about earthquake insurance, as a secure means of protecting oneself from the losses that can happen due to a destructive earthquake.
Earthquake insurance covers for financial losses caused due to a devastating earthquake or earth movement such as land slide, mudslide or sinkhole that involves the shifting, sinking or rising of earth surface. But earthquake insurance comes with a twist - it does not pay for losses incurred due to a tidal wave or flood, even the effect is compounded or affected by a prior earthquake. Sometimes ridiculous technicality that is, but a common man has no other choice than living with it.
An important aspect with earthquake insurance is that it is no part of the homeowner or tenant insurance policies. Instead, earthquake insurance stands independently like a life insurance or auto insurance.
Let us see how earthquake insurance works. Earthquake insurance, unlike most homeowner insurance types - covers mainly substantial losses. The claim is paid after accounting for the deductibles that may vary from 10-25%. The damages that exceed the deductibles are only paid to the customer.
Even though there are no hard and fast rules in deducing claims, while doing so, some insurance providers may take in to account structure and contents as separate entities. In such analysis, deductibles apply separately to total losses incurred on the structure, contents and damages to external constructions like garages, sheds and driveways.
Certain insurance companies put forward strict requirements before issuing one an earthquake insurance policy. That is, they might insist on undertaking a detailed inspection of the client's property before moving further ahead with the policy. For example, some insurance providers insist that the client's home should be securely bolted to the basement. The inspection also covers other aspects like the bracing on the interior walls and how strapping guards are used to support fixtures. Hence, it would be better if the homeowner clears his side and plug all loop holes before inviting the insurance company to inspect his/her house.
Now the most important thing; once the damage occurs due to an earthquake, make the claim promptly and within the time period as stipulated by the rules and regulations governing the policy. Also, make sure that your claims are supported with all valid documents and proof of damage incurred. One might wonder, but it is these two points in which many people error and subsequently have their claims rejected by the insurance companies.
Let us conclude with the biggest and funniest of the points to make - what is the point in applying for earthquake insurance if your home lies on a non-earthquake prone zone? Won't it be a waste of money??
Well, it is more of a personal choice to make. If your home is situated on a fault area, better go for insurance. Else, one can play with your chance, depending upon the confidence you have on your destiny. Either way, we wish you good luck!

Keisha Seaton is the owner of http://my-articles.com. To read more Insurance Articles [http://www.my-articles.com/Category/Insurance/93] please visit [http://www.my-articles.com/Category/Insurance/93] .

 

How to Prepare for an Earthquake

By Laurie Brenner

If you live in California, you know that earthquakes will happen, but what you may not know about is the sleeping giant that lies just off the West Coast near Washington and Oregon.
The Cascadia fault is almost twice as long as the fault in the Maule region of Chile, just off the Chilean coast. You may remember that it rattled for 3.0 minutes at an 8.8 magnitude in February of 2010 causing a lot of destruction. This earthquake created tsunamis and aftershocks that lasted for days. The area still experiences earthquakes and aftershocks nearly a year later.
The Chilean earthquake rattled more than the country and brought more than buildings down.
It rattled the minds of California's earthquake structural engineers when some of their newly-touted earthquake-proof buildings came tumbling down, some breaking right in half.
American engineers immediately showed up on scene to review the damage to ascertain the problems. The reason: Chilean earthquake buildings codes are similar to those of California. Those structures were not supposed to fail.
The Long Cascadia Fault
When the Cascadia fault rips, it will send shock waves and tsunamis in many directions -- the least of which will affect California severely, not to mention Oregon and Washington.
According to Alicia Chang, of the Associated Press in an article dated March of last year on MSN, the 680-long Cascadia fault is due for a "mega earthquake." It hasn't erupted in 300 years and the last time it did, it sent tsunamis as far as away as coastal villages in Japan. That's some mileage.
In her article she quotes Brian Atwater, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and University at Washington," the Pacific Northwest has a long geological history of doing exactly what happened in Chile. It's not a matter of if, but when the next one will happen."
The fear is that when the Cascadia fault goes off, it may last up to 5 minutes, with a magnitude of 9.0 or more.
Damage caused by earthquakes is not based solely on its magnitude, but its duration. The longer the quake lasts, the more stuff that comes tumbling down.
Prepare for an Earthquake
The only solution then is to prepare for an earthquake. While you cannot prevent one, you and your family can be one of those who are more than ready if such a thing happens. Having an emergency plan of action for any kind of disaster, much less an earthquake is not only sound thinking, but when disaster hits, family members know exactly what to do.
Steps to Prepare
Each family must take steps to prepare for an earthquake or any other kind of natural disaster. It is important to be self-sufficient, in case emergency personnel are unable to get to your location. As the flight attendant tells you as you wait for take-off "put on your own oxygen mask first, so that you can help others." A family earthquake plan does just that.
Here are some of the things you can do to prepare for an earthquake or any other natural disaster.
• Develop a disaster plan for the family
• Ensure a cache of food supplies for the family for at least 3 days, more if possible
• Keep an emergency medical kit and other emergency items handy, stored in a safe location
• Keep extra prescriptions, eye glasses and other needed items in the emergency supplies
• Make plans for pets
• Shut-off the gas immediately after an earthquake, don't light a match first
While this list is certainly not comprehensive, it gives you some ideas of what you need to do in order to prepare.

Download an earthquake preparedness manual for your family by visiting www.CaliforniaEarthquakesToday.com. It comes complete with checklists, government recommendations for food supplies, emergency goods and ideas on how to make your home more earthquake-secure.
It's too late once the earthquake happens, besides protecting your family, do you have insurance for that big screen television? There are ways to protect the valuables in your home. Learn how you can Prepare for an Earthquake today.

Earthquake Survival Kit: Build Your Own

By James Sorick

After every major earthquake people find themselves displaced out of their homes either temporarily, or permanently. This latest earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand is no different. Those people who still have their home intact often find that they are without water, electricity, phone, and even sewage services. A very tough situation becomes even tougher.
Depending on the severity of the quake, it can take days, weeks, and even months before all the services are working properly. Life temporarily becomes one big headache. It is a very stressful time for everyone in the community.
The best way to lessen the impact of an earthquake on you and your household is to prepare in advance for it. That's right, I am talking about having an earthquake kit ready.
If you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes and you don't have an earthquake kit yet, now is the time to amend that problem. You can buy one already made or better yet make one yourself. Store the kit in large plastic bins that are clearly marked. Store it somewhere that is easy to get to and make sure everyone in the home knows where it is and it's purpose.
Here are the basic items that every homes earthquake survival kit should include:
Water:
You need at least a three-day supply per person. That is a minimum of one gallon of water a day per person for three days.
Don't forget to also store some for yours pets.
Keep it in plastic bottles. I like to buy gallon bottles of purified water for this step.
Rotate your water every six months.
Purify contaminated water with household liquid bleach. Add 16 drops per gallon and wait 30 minutes. If you don't smell a slight odor of bleach, repeat the process.
Food:
Make sure all food is non-perishable. Ready to eat canned foods are good choices.
Granola bars, dried fruit, peanut butter, crackers and other high energy foods should be included.
Also include formula for the baby and any special food that your elderly need.
Don't forget food for your pets.
Don't forget to rotate your food every six months. Check expiration dates.
Shelter:
Buy some waterproof vinyl or polyethylene tarps. Hopefully you will be able to still shelter in your own home but there may still be damage to the structure. You can protect your home from the elements with those tarps. Tarps are also ideal for catching rain water to drink.
If you aren't able to stay home then you need to know how to make a shelter out of those tarps or have a tent to shelter your family.
An alternative to tarps is plastic sheeting. When taped down with duct tape it seals windows very well.
First Aid Kit:
Buy a good kit for your home. The more extensive it is, the better level of treatment you can offer.
Have smaller, basic kit for your bug out bag.
Rendering first aid to the injured is critical during any survival situation. Take some courses from the Red Cross or a similar organization to learn how to treat the injured.
Realize that hospitals will be overwhelmed and that the fastest healing will happen because you provided aid immediately.
Personal Hygiene & medication:
Feminine supplies.
Soap.
Tooth brush and paste.
Contact lens solution and extra lens. Spare pair of glasses.
Important medication. Rotate every 6 months.
Deodorant.
Tools and other implements:
Flashlights, batteries.
Fire starters. Have several different kinds such as waterproof matches and a lighter.
Knives.
550 paracord.
Duct tape.
An ax, a hand saw, or even a chain saw.
A big wrench to turn off the water and gas.
A folding shovel.
A good multi tool.
A manual can opener such as a P-38.
Disposable camera.
Work gloves
Paper plates, plastic utensils and other disposable feeding supplies.
Crowbar.
Hammer & nails.
Staple gun.
Documents: Copies of all documents can be either paper or digital. I think it makes the most sense to have both.
Wills.
Insurance; home, life, auto, and medical.
Passports, drivers license, and other identification.
Bank account information.
Credit card account information.
Contact list.
Family birth, death and marriage certificates.
Sanitation:
Toilet paper.
Sanitary wipes.
Rubber gloves.
Face mask.
Plastic garbage bags with ties
5 gallon bucket with a lid.
Liquid chlorine bleach.
Poop bags to pick up after pets.
Clothing and Sleeping gear:
Sturdy clothes shoes and boots.
Rain poncho.
Blankets or sleeping bags.
Miscellaneous:
Deck of cards or something else to fight boredom
$200 cash. When the power is off you can't use your credit cards.
Anything else that you think is important.
Building and maintaining your homes survival kit is very rewarding. The kit will of course work for other disasters besides earthquakes. I hope that I gave you enough ideas to get you started on your own. By doing this for your family you will know that they are much more ready than most of your neighbors. The feeling that you get is great...I hope that you feel it soon!

Hi, I'm James Sorick and I run a website that teaches about survival gear and preparedness strategies. I invite you to visit my site where you will continue your survival education with excellent articles such as 3 Steps To Survive The Coming Food Shortage.

Constructions in Earthquake-Prone Regions

By Borbala Labancz

Whether it is the result of climate change or of our industrialized society, one thing is sure: the Earth is stricken by more and more natural disaster. And if it is not enough, these earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides always happen in the most inhabited - and usually the poorest, undeveloped - regions, causing thousands of casualties each year. However, this phenomenon is probably not a unique part of our modern days - there are numerous examples of destruction caused by earthquakes in the ancient times, when whole settlements were destroyed by the Earth's seismic activity.
We might use high-tech gadgets and possess a number of university degrees, but in some sense we just can not get smarter. We, as well as our predecessors tend to evolve cities close to fault lines, the most earthquake prone areas. The only difference is that every time we build higher and higher buildings, therefore we increase the severity of the consequences of a possible quake.
The most well-known American fault line is probably the San Andreas Fault Line, which actually crosses important cities in California like San Diego, Los Angeles or San Francisco. In these regions seismic activity is an everyday phenomenon. To avoid possible catastrophes, in the United States building codes usually have specific requirements in earthquake prone areas to increase the constructions' resistance.
It is important to note that building codes were introduced to prevent major catastrophes, however a heavy earthquake can damage these buildings to a minimal extent. A properly engineered structure does not necessarily have to be expensive or extremely strong. The most important is the base isolation and the use of vibration control technologies. It is also recommended to make the roof as light as possible. The use of quality control and correct materials is indispensable.
Instead of adobe, limestone and sandstone structure, steel is considered to be the most appropriate material to use in quake-prone areas, although not even steel structure can guarantee 100 percent proof in a strong quake. Another advantage of steel buildings is ductility, as the elements are flexible and can bend even without breaking into pieces. This is a crucial point in construction and design in territories nearby fault lines.
Time is another important factor, as in these regions, the time of an earthquake is unpredictable, it can happen even before finishing the construction. Therefore, it is recommended to shorten the construction phase as much as you can. As steel buildings are available in pre-fabricated, pre-drilled and pre-punched elements, you can evolve a building faster then using traditional materials, therefore minimizing the risks.

And last but not least, do keep it in your mind: not any metal building provides earthquake-proof structure. Safety and security depend on the construction's certain structure, design, the best available technology and material, and the special landscape characteristics.

Typically, a 6+M quake occurs every three days, so there was no great concentration of quakes at this time. PREDICTIONS FOR THE JUNE WINDOW

Five Things to Do Immediately After an Earthquake - From the Insurance Perspective

By Ron Reitz

What Should You Do Immediately After An Earthquake - from an Insurance Perspective
Five Things to Do
1. Make sure your family and pets are safe. Find a place to live. Most insurance policies provide reimbursement for hotels and rental homes. You do not have to rough it. You are entitled to stay in a location with similar quality as your covered home. In order to ensure that you are fully compensated for your "additional living expenses" and "loss of use", you will need to keep all receipts for meals, lodging, and purchases to replace damaged items from the time you left your home after the quake until it is fully repaired and you are able to move back in.
If you have a policy issued through the California Earthquake Agency, the Additional Living Expense coverage will probably not cover your living expenses during the repair process. You may want to contact FEMA for additional assistance.
2. Notify your insurance agent and/or insurance carrier that you have sustained damage to your home. If it is only minor, you may want to think and reconsider as your deductible may cover the damage that was caused. If you have suffered damage you believe is covered by your earthquake, business and/or homeowner's insurance policy, you need to inform them that you plan on filing a claim. Coverage for some earthquake related losses might be available under certain sections of your homeowners or business policy."
3. If you don't like what your insurance adjuster is saying or if they tell you that the damage does not exceed your policies' deductible, you should get an independent opinion. It may be time for you to call in a Public Insurance Adjuster, licensed structural engineer or a contractor who has had experience rebuilding earthquake and fire damaged homes.
"The adjuster sent by your insurance company to inspect your home after a quake may not know how to look for and identify earthquake damage," warns UnitedPolicyHolders.org, a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of insurance consumers and educates individuals and businesses on how to get fair treatment. "Do not blindly trust your adjuster, especially if he or she tells you no benefits are owed because the damage did not exceed your deductible. Some companies reward adjusters for paying out as little as possible on claims. Your home is simply too valuable for you to rely on one person's opinion, especially if that person is not a licensed structural engineer or an experienced contractor."
4. You should do this BEFORE you have a disaster but most people don't look carefully until after something bad happens. You need to take a close look at the "declarations" page.
That is the page that states your name, address, policy number, categories of coverage, dollar limits, endorsements, lender, etc.). Check the date to ensure that you are working from the most current, up-to-date copy because that will state exactly what your coverages are. The "Endorsements" (extras) will be listed and review the ones that apply to your policy. Every endorsement has a code number that matches text in the policy. (See Declarations Guide below)
Amy Bach of UnitedPolicyHolders, warns, "If you are confused, do not rely solely on your insurance company or THEIR adjuster for answers. Consult with professionals who specialize in advising or representing insurance consumers."
5. Do not sign anything unless you are sure that you are being adequately compensated for your losses. Don't provide a sworn statement or final "Proof of Loss" document to your insurer until you are positive that you understand your rights, your insurance policy coverage and endorsements, and the FULL extent of your claim and what it will take to make you whole again.
Don't sign anything without proper legal advice first. Be especially aware of "releases or waivers of any kind. Carefully read all documents carefully, including both sides of all checks, to make sure they don't contain "final" or "release" language.
Insurers have the right to take your recorded or sworn statement regarding your claim, and you must cooperate, provided their request is reasonable. However, giving such a statement without legal representation, or prematurely signing a final proof of loss may hurt your ability to fully recover the policy benefits you need to repair your home properly.
Insurance company adjusters often try to rush you into a fast settlement to save money and close your file. He or she may also claim that your home damage pre-existed the quake. Don't be pressured. Take your time and get professional help if you need it.
Documenting a major loss to ensure a full, fair recovery requires work and lots of research. Before you can really know the true amount of your insurance claim, you must get estimates from reputable contractors, and be able to inventory all your lost or damaged possessions. This takes time. If your home is showing severe cracks, you may have foundation damage. A licensed structural engineer should fully inspect and tell you the scope of necessary repairs. Discuss repair options with a reputable contractor before settling your claim.
UnitedPolicyHolders Guide to What to Look for on the Declarations Page:
1. Your policy has categories of coverage and dollar limits for each one. The main categories are "Dwelling", "Contents", "Loss of Use," (sometimes called "Additional Living Expenses"), and "Other (or 'Appurtenant') Structures" etc.
2. The dollar limits stated on your Declarations page may be lower than your true limits. Annual inflation factors, "endorsements", and other additions contained in the policy increase your limits. Typical additions are 5% of your dwelling limit for debris removal and landscaping. Typical endorsements are Extended Replacement Cost coverage and Building Code/Ordinance coverage. Do the math to re-calculate your limits in all applicable categories.
3. The policy language may not provide the coverage you requested at the time you purchased it, and you may find you are under insured. In this situation, you may need professional help from a policyholder attorney or the Department of Insurance to determine whether an agent/broker or the carrier is legally responsible to solve this problem.
There are laws and regulations that protect you as an insurance consumer. Those laws are set forth in the California Insurance Code at section 790.03(h), the California Code of Regulations at Title 10, Chapter 5, and judicial decisions.
Take Your Time - Don't Be Rushed
Even though you are in a hurry to get everything settled and to get your family back into your home, you need to take your time and do it right. Once you sign the final documents, you will have no recourse. Most people who sign quickly lose out on money that they could have got if they had waited. If you hurry, you will not be able to adequately remember all the possessions that you had purchased and are now destroyed. This is especially true of the little things- special tools and implements, the gifts, decorations and special items that only get used several times a year - on holidays or vacations. A rushed settlement only benefits the insurance company and its agents - not you.
Check out this Quality Claims Management online article with maps to find out if your home is in a danger zone - check for landslide, liquefaction and earthquake fault zones. http://www.qualityclaims.com/homeowner.aspx?sect=_quakeinsurance
by Ronald Reitz, President of Quality Claims Management

Ron Reitz is president of San Diego-based Quality Claims Management Corp., a nationally licensed public insurance adjuster, providing hazard claim recovery services to investors, mortgage servicers, homeowners and businesses. Earlier, he pioneered the national hazard insurance claims business of GMAC-RFC (now GMAC-ResCap). He is the past president of the California Association of Public Insurance Adjusters and currently serves on the board of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Contact Quality Claims Management at (866) 45-1183 or http://www.qualityclaims.com.

Preparing a Home Earthquake Kit

By Ben Anton

If you live in an area prone to seismic activity, it's vitally important that you have an earthquake kit in your house or in your car so that you'll have emergency supplies if you need them. Even if you don't live in an area that is prone to earthquakes, you might want to create a basic disaster survival kit to be used in case of tornados or other types of natural disasters.
Ideally, your earthquake kit should contain enough supplies for you and your family to survive for a period of up to three days. Beyond the basic considerations of food and water that are physically necessary for survival, you will also need a few additional items to help you make it through the aftermath of an earthquake.
One of the first things that you'll need is some sort of light source in case the electricity has been knocked out in your area. Since you're going to want to make sure that your light will work when needed, your best bet is to choose an LED flashlight or lantern since they have a drastically reduced energy usage and will keep a charge longer in storage than most standard flashlights. Test any LED flashlight that you have every few months to make sure that it still works, and if you're using a lantern that has multiple lighting modes then you should take the time to test every one of its modes.
Another essential piece of equipment is a multi-purpose tool that has knife blades, pliers, screwdrivers, and even saw blades and can openers in it. Be sure to store your multi-purpose tool with your LED lantern or LED flashlights so that you can find it quickly once you've located your light source. You'd be amazed at how useful a multi-purpose tool can be after an earthquake, and you may even find uses for it that you've never considered.
Also in your earthquake kit should be a fully-stocked first aid kit so that you can treat any injuries that might have occurred during the earthquake. Make sure that you have common items such as blankets, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer with your first aid kit so that you can cover basic needs and provide warmth and sanitation for anyone who is suffering from shock as well.
Other useful things to include in your earthquake kit include enough money or traveler's checks to be able to meet any monetary needs that you might have in case the banks are closed due to the earthquake. You should also have a safe with copies of any important documents that you don't want to be lost or damaged in an earthquake, as well as clean clothes for both warm and cold weather so that you and your family won't be forced to wear the same clothes for several days in a row.
Make sure that you check the expiration dates on any food or medicine that you keep in your earthquake kit, and change out any stored water that you have every few months. This will prevent you or your family members from getting sick due to expired food or stale water.
Preparing an earthquake kit is an important activity that should be done as a family to ensure that everyone knows how to use the items inside and where to find it if an earthquake occurs. Being prepared for a disaster may very well save a person's life.
~Ben Anton, 2008

Ben Anton lives in Portland, OR.
He invites you to read more about the latest emergency kit equipment, including LED flashlights, lanterns and multipurpose tools at the Northwest sports equipment website

Reassurance after earthquake prediction 

Mild Earthquake Hits Southeast Missouri

By Gunjanpriya Jha

Missouri experiences a mild earthquake on Nov 7, officials revealed.
The United States Geological Survey stated that the tremor had a magnitude of 2.8 on Richter scale and its epicenter was located 15 miles away from Cape Girardeau.
Missouri comes under New Madrid seismic zone; however, earthquake activities are concentrated in the southeastern part of the state.
Geological Survey further stated that the effects of tremor with a focal point in southeastern Missouri were felt even in St. Louis and Memphis in Tenn.
The survey's website reports that prior to this earthquake, a tremor with magnitude of 2.1 on Richter scale was felt on Nov1 near Blytheville, Ark, which was considered as a usual incident in Missouri.
The historical records of earthquakes reveal that Missouri was completely tremor-free before the beginning of 19th century. The New Madrid seismic zone has been experiencing earthquakes since year 1699. At present, this area is known as Memphis in Tennessee. There are many geological evidences which support this fact. This incident was documented by a French missionary which recorded this incident in their written account during their voyage to Memphis.
The strongest ever earthquake in the United States occurred on Nov 9, 1968. Its epicenter was in Southern Illinois. The magnitude of this earthquake was 5.5 on Richter scale and its impact was felt in 23 states of the United States. The tremor was so strong that it damaged chimneys and walls at Hermann, St Charles, St Louis, and Sikeston, Missouri.

Gunjan Priya A freelancer from India, with 5 years' experience in writing and editing Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gunjanpriya_Jha

Major Earthquake Warning Globally - Japan 8.9 Quake - Beware The Pacific Ring of Fire

By Lance Winslow

Why are all these major Earthquakes Happening you ask? Well there is a lot of speculation after the two recent huge Earthquakes in New Zealand literally leveling half the city of Christ Church and sounding suburbs. And then a massive Earthquake hit off the North East coast of Japan. The news of the quake went world-wide online in minutes, as the Tsunami Warning Alarms went off.
In fact, here in Los Angeles CA, we know all too well how deadly such an Earthquake can be, and this one in Tokyo was no little rumble - it was nearly a 9.0 - so it was massive. ABC Channel 7 in Los Angeles sent out a Breaking News Alert at 10:30 PM on Thursday, March 10, 2011, which would be mid-day Japan Friday. The news alert put it like this:
"An 8.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. Japanese television is showing major tsunami damage of cars, trucks, houses, and buildings being swept away in the northern part of country. Japan's meteorological agency warned that a tsunami as high as 20 feet could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture."
Later there was more information coming out from the Pacific Warning Center for Tsunamis, from the Hawaiian center sending out warnings to many other nations; Tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Now then, I do not wish to alarm anyone but the magnetic North Pole has been moving at about 40 miles per year, and some scientists are beginning to talk telling the world that it isn't Global Warming melting the ice near the pole, it's being caused by the magnetic pole shift causing changes in weather patterns, and also re-distribution of weight, meaning there will be shifts on the major continental plates, and major Earthquake faults, especially on the Pacific Rim of Fire.
Is this what is causing these giant Earthquakes? Well, no one can prove it, and for every scientist that says they are, there are 10 who disagree and demand more empirical evidence and proof. Is this part of the 2012 Apocalypse Theory, well, it does not appear to be, but you can bet folks who are superstitious, or conspiracy theorists will be calling it that, "the end of days" for instance. Right now everyone is told to remain calm and consider your humanity, as we all work together to maintain order. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

www.nextearthquake.com

By Mostafa EL-Engebawy, Ph.D.

What are the consequences of a Strong Earthquake?
Your home may have some level of structural damage to foundations, cripple walls, anchorage of walls to the floor or roof, masonry chimney, and around the garage opening or large window openings if soft story conditions are met. On the other hand, damage to non-structural elements and contents is most likely to occur to interior partitions, exterior wall panels, suspended ceilings, electrical and mechanical equipment, ducts, water and gas pipes, water heaters, hanging objects, furniture, home electronics, dishes, etc. In the meantime, electrical, gas, water and sewage, and transportation systems are most likely to be disrupted for several days, weeks, or even months after a strong earthquake. Emergency response agencies and hospitals will likely be over-whelmed and unable to provide immediate assistance. To help your family cope during and after future inevitable earthquakes, you should establish, update, or maintain your own earthquake preparedness plan now.
What is an Earthquake Preparedness Plan?
Earthquake preparedness is to know how to setup various disaster plans before a moderate-to-large earthquake hits your area, and how to react during and after the earthquake. The objective is to protect yourself and your family from destructive earthquakes as well as to minimize the earthquake damage to your home and its contents. Seismic retrofitting and contents mitigation are two major components of earthquake preparedness that will be discussed in separate articles. Disaster management and disaster recovery during and after the earthquake will also be discussed in another article. In this article, you will learn how to prepare personal survival kits, a household emergency kit including emergency food and water for two weeks, a financial recovery kit, and other essential emergency preparedness items.
How to Prepare Personal Survival Kits?
For each household member; keep one survival kit at home, another in the car, and a third kit at work/school. Backpacks or other small bags are best for survival kits. These kits are collections of first aid, survival, and emergency supplies that shall include:

1. Medications, prescriptions list, medical insurance cards copies, doctors' names and contact information.
2. First aid kit and handbook, dust mask, sturdy shoes, and whistle.
3. Spare eyeglasses or contact lenses and cleaning solutions.
4. Personal hygiene supplies.
5. Bottled water, snack foods high in calories, and toiletries.
6. Working flash-light with extra batteries and light bulbs.
7. Extra cell phone battery and charger.
8. Emergency cash and road maps.
9. Copies of personal identification, and list of out-of-area emergency contact phone numbers.
10. Games, crayons, writing materials and teddy bears for children.

How to Prepare a Household Emergency Kit?
Store a household emergency kit in an easily accessible outdoor location other than the garage. This kit which complements your family's personal survival kits should be in a large watertight container that can be easily moved and should hold at least one week (ideally two weeks) emergency supplies of the following items:

1. A minimum of one gallon per person per day of drinking water.
2. Emergency food that is canned and packaged.
3. Cooking utensils including a manual can opener.
4. Charcoal or gas grill for outdoor cooking and matches.
5. Pet food and pet restraints.
6. First aid supplies and medications.
7. Essential hygiene items such as soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper.
8. Extra car and house keys.
9. A wrench and other basic tools.
10. Working flash-light with extra batteries and light bulbs.
11. A portable battery-operated radio with spare batteries.
12. Comfortable warm clothing, baby items, extra socks, blankets or sleeping bags, and even a tent.
13. Work gloves and protective goggles.
14. Heavy-duty plastic bags for waste and to serve other uses.

How to Prepare a Financial Recovery Kit?
Copies of your essential financial documents should be kept in a fire-proof document safe in order to be available after a damaging earthquake. Consider purchasing a home safe or renting a safe deposit box. Copies of essential documents in this financial recovery kit shall include:

1. Picture identifications, birth certificates, social security cards, naturalization papers or residency documents, passports, driver licenses, marriage license or divorce papers, child custody papers, and power of attorney papers.
2. Medical prescription and records.
3. Mortgage, home improvement records, homeowner and auto insurance policies, and earthquake insurance policy.
4. A list of phone numbers for your financial institutions and credit card companies.
5. Bank statements and financial records, credit card numbers, and certificates for stocks, bonds, and other investments.
6. A list of your household inventory and possessions with photos and videos. Appraisals of valuable jewelry, art, and antiques. This item is particularly important for earthquake insurance claims.
7. Deeds, titles, and other ownership records for property such as homes, autos, recreation vehicles, and boats.
8. A backup of critical files on your computer. A list of names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of critical personal and business contacts.
9. Wills or trust documents.
10. Emergency cash.

Other Emergency Preparedness Items

1. Provide all family members with a list of important contact phone numbers including a designated out-of-area emergency contact person who can be called by everyone to tell where they are.
2. Locate a safe place outside your home to meet your family after the shaking stops.
3. Determine where to live if your home cannot be occupied after an earthquake.
4. Know about the earthquake preparedness plan developed by your children's school or day care.
5. Keep a working flashlight and sturdy shoes next to everyone's bed.
6. Install smoke alarms, test them monthly, and change the battery once a year.
7. Buy a fire extinguisher, put it in an easily accessible location, and get training in how to use it properly.
8. Keep needed tools near utility shutoffs and learn how to turn off electricity, water, and gas. Only turn off the gas if you smell or hear leaking gas.
9. Identify safe spots in every room, such as under sturdy desks and tables, then practice "drop, cover, and hold on" with your family specially children. Learn how to protect your head at all times during earthquake shaking.
10. Determine the best escape routes from your home and from each room.
11. Take a Red Cross first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course.

If you live in California
You should participate in the annual Great California ShakeOut Earthquake Drill. You can register at http://www.shakeout.org/ now for the 2010 ShakeOut Drill on October 21 at 10:21 a.m.! It is a great opportunity to learn how to protect yourself and your family during earthquakes, and to get prepared. More than 6.9 million Californians participated in the second annual earthquake drill in 2009.
Concluding Remark
The 2010 Haiti earthquake is a wake up call for anyone who lives in an active seismic region to establish, update, or maintain their own earthquake preparedness plan. In the United States, these regions include -but not limited to- Alaska and the West Coast especially California; the Midwestern States especially Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee around the New Madrid and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zones; and the Charleston area in South Carolina.

Additional information on how to establish an earthquake preparedness plan including illustrative figures and photos can be found at http://hubpages.com/hub/how-to-establish-an-earthquake-preparedness-plan My family and I survived the January 17th 1995 Kobe Earthquake although our building partially collapsed. Check my website at http://earthquake-preparedness.net for additional information on earthquake awareness and preparedness in the United States including earthquake damage photos of Kobe earthquake

Re-Painting Christchurch Houses After the Earthquake

By Andreas Becker

The earthquake in September has damaged many homes in and around Christchurch and most of these will need to be repainted. You may need to paint the interior, exterior or both. Many of the painters Christchurch has on offer have found that they are actually running out of work at present. This is because it can take a while for the assessments to be made and approved by EQC. Many people who have been given payouts have decided that the damage is relatively minor and that they can live with it and have spent the money on other things. Not many of the larger, managed claims have been auctioned yet.
There is no doubt that when work is started on these claims that all the painters in Christchurch will be inundated with work. So now is the time to benefit from the quiet period that they are experiencing. If you do not have an EQC claim but need some painting done get in quick and get the work done. The painters will be happy to work for you and if you procrastinate until the EQC work starts flowing through you may well find yourself at the back of a long queue.
If you do have earthquake damage that you think will involve repainting it is also a good idea to talk to a painter and ask for a quote on the work required. Even if the assessors have not yet visited it is still advisable. You may be offered a lump sum payout. If you know how much the painting is going to cost you, you will be able to judge whether to take it or whether you are better to take the managed option. You could also use your quote to try and increase the payout.
Whether you have been given a payout or your home is being repaired as a managed project having a quote ready will save you time. As soon as work starts flowing through to the painters finding one who can do your work will be very hard. If you have already built a relationship with a painter and have been given a quote this will put you higher up the queue. It will also make the whole process go a lot faster with EQC because you will have a very important step in the process completed. The busier the painters get the harder it will be to even get a quote from them. You will also be able to shop around for a painter that you like and has good references rather than having to accept the only one available. This painter may well be very good but there is no guarantee that this will be the case.
So if you will need painting done on your home in the next few months do not delay but contact one of the painters Christchurch has presently sitting waiting for your call before you won't be able to get hold of one for love or money.

If you are looking for an excellent painter, Painters Christchurch houses only the best painters in New Zealand. Visit their site today at Christchurch Painter. Earthquake predictions, largest regional earthquakes

Careful Earthquake Preparedness - Earthquake Survival Kits

By Shane Dayton

Earthquakes are major natural disasters that can bring an entire city to its knees. While these are particularly devastating in poor or third world countries, even first world countries can be devastated by earthquakes. Anchorage and San Francisco are two examples of cities in the United States that have been absolutely crippled by a powerful earthquake before, and that doesn't even look at the very rare, but potentially devastating, Missouri fault line.
Being prepared for an earthquake involves many things, but one of the actions you can immediately take in order to help your odds is packing an earthquake survival kit. There are some arguments over what exactly should be in one of these kits, but there are several items that just about everyone can agree on.
First, you have to assume a worst case scenario, meaning that the infrastructure of a city won't be working the way it usually would. So things you would normally take for granted, like water and electricity, might not be certain. Because of this, an earthquake emergency kit needs to have iodine and water purification tablets to make sure you have drinkable water.
In addition, an earthquake specific kit should also have a flashlight and extra batteries. If you have one of those flashlights that can also be converted into a lantern, even better.
You will also want a signal whistle, not only in case you are caught under rubble, but also to signal nearby rescuers if you can see or hear someone who is trapped. Add in some gauze for bandaging cuts or band wounds.
These are just a few of the most important materials you will want to have in any quality emergency preparedness kit for earthquakes.

And if you are still concerned about being unprepared for an earthquake, then read this blog post all about earthquake survival kits to get a better idea of what you want to put in your kit. If you are interested in being prepared for every potential emergency situation, then you will want to check out this must visit basic survival kit blog. Thanks for reading!

Prediction techniques - Satellite observations - Early warning - Tidal forces Earthquake prediction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Earthquake Safety Tips

By Kum Martin

Earthquakes are one of the most common natural disasters mankind has witnessed over time. The loss of human lives and their property is magnanimous. If you are living in an area that is naturally prone to constant seismic activities, it is wise to learn some simple safety tips to prevent or minimize any injury to yourself or your family members.
Arrange items in your homes in such a way that the fragile items or those made of glass and other breakable materials are placed on a lower surface, towards the ground instead of placing them on cupboards higher up. When there is an earthquake or a tremor, there is a minimal possibility of these objects falling on you or your family members, reducing the chances of you getting hurt.
Never place wall hangings, pictures or mirrors and glass items near your bed, sofas and other furnishing where you would be sitting or lying down. When there is a violent movement, these decorative pieces would fall on the floor directly and not on you, minimizing chances of injury.
Educate your kids about safety tips. Teach them to call 911 during an emergency and not to panic.
There are high chances of the short circuits and fire breakouts during an earthquake. Make sure you fix cracks, faulty electrical connections immediately.
During an earthquake, lie beneath a sturdy material like a table, desk, etc. Do not go near objects that could directly fall on you. Switch off electrical connections and gas. Do not use the elevator to go down. Use the staircases at all times. Do not take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric pole or tall buildings.
If you are driving, stop your vehicle and stay put. Do not park your vehicle under a tree or any tall object.

About Author:
Kum Martin is an online leading expert in global warming prevention. He also offers top quality articles like:
Trees in Rainforest, Global Warming Facts

Earthquake Prediction California, San Francisco, Los Angeles

What Size Earthquake Does it Take to Spill a Venti Mocha Frappachino?

By Lance Winslow

The other day I was sitting in Starbucks and having a little mental exercise with an acquaintance of mine. Apparently, his knee hit the table, and I noticed my Venti a White Mocha Frappachino almost tipped over. Of course I moved very quickly to catch it from falling, I didn't get to it in time, but it was able to stay upright on its own. But that got us to thinking exactly how big of an earthquake on the Richter scale would it take to tip over a full White Mocha Frappachino, one with no whip cream, in other words the standard lid?
Well, we reasoned that when his knee hit the table that would have moved the table with about as much force as a 4.0 earthquake. And since it did not fall over, we figured that that mocha Frappachino could probably have handled a 4.5 earthquake on the Richter scale without tipping over and spilling. Now you might not think this is silly and unimportant, but mind you I live in California, we do have earthquakes. So, this is a relevant mental exercise, and it might actually help you lose weight if you will continue reading.
You see, there are 480 callories in a White Mocha Frappachino, of the Venti size, and there are over 100 less calories in the Grande or Medium size. The Grande size has the same base, but it is shorter by a couple of inches, which means they could probably survive a 5.5 earthquake. And let's face it if there's an earthquake much over 5.5 you are going to reach for your Frappachino and duck under the table right away or run outside the store before the glass starts shattering somewhere.
At a 6.5 earthquake you can expect some shattered glass, perhaps even at the window next to where you are sitting. At a 7.5 earthquake there will be glass shattered, and it will be a mess, in fact, you may not even be able to get outside of the store in time, or even want to run out in the parking lot because something else might fall on you.
So, perhaps this thinking exercise has helped you, so that you might order the medium-size rather than the large vent a size next time you go to Starbucks, you will save about a dollar in cost, and about 100 callories during your visit. Indeed, hope you will please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank http://www.worldthinktank.net - Lance Winslow believes it's hard work to write 22,222 articles; http://www.bloggingcontent.net/

The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

By Carmen Guererra

There have definitely been many earthquakes in San Francisco. California residents have long realized that earth tremors are typical to that area, and take getting used to.
But the most famous San Francisco earthquake that devastated the city occurred in 1906. Before you go to California, even for a short trip, it's definitely a good idea to be aware of possible earthquakes and learn basic survival skills.
Why California?
You don't have to be a geologist to understand that basics of a San Francisco earthquake. The surface of the earth is covered in tectonic plates. These plates shift and change shape due to the volcanic and geological activity of the earth. It's easy to visualize North America as one big solid "sheet". But it is actually made up of multiple plates.
California lies right in the middle of two of these plates. It straddles the North America and the Pacific plates. The San Andreas Fault is the area where these two plates meet. The fault is a hot spot of geological activity and it runs straight up California. The fault extends a staggering distance, over 800 miles.
Scientists spend their lives researching and trying to predict earthquakes. This task proved to be so challenging that not much progress has been made up to this day. And back then in 1906, the earthquake forecast was even further away from reality then it is now.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
On Wednesday, April 18, 1906, at 5:12 a.m., the great San Francisco earthquake struck. The general estimate is that the quake was a 7.9 on the scale that is usually known as the Richter scale. Some scientists disagree, and suggest that 8.25 is a more accurate value. Whatever the magnitude, tremors were recorded from Oregon down to Los Angeles and even into Nevada.
The not only was the quake a huge disaster, but San Francisco was plagued by fires as a result. Some studies show that the fires alone caused more damage than the shocks. On that day in 1906, the New York Times declared that there were over 500 dead. At the time casualties in parts of the city like Chinatown were not reported. This number has since been updated to over 3,000.
Because of ruptured gas mains beneath the city, whole blocks were consumed by fires in the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake. Even worse, the fire department had little means to combat the flames because the water mains were also damaged.
The Aftermath
The homes of about 225,000 people were left irreparably damaged. Many fled to other parts of the state and the army was called in to assist with temporary housing. Small relief houses were erected in eleven temporary housing camps. At one point, about 16,448 people sought shelter in the small homes that were packed closely together.
The importance of rebuilding the city was heralded by politicians. In an unexpected turn of events, the officials purposely released statements that seemed to downplay the damage. Because they wanted real estate investors to return to the city, the magnitude of the San Francisco earthquake was minimized in the eyes of the public.
Pop culture has since used the quake as a backdrop for films, novels, and plays. Museums like the Museum of Modern Art regularly show exhibits related to the disaster.
Though the whole area reeled after the San Francisco earthquake, the city is now better than ever. Now is the perfect chance to visit the cultured neighborhoods and view the stunning scenery and architecture.

Carmen Guererra is the owner of http://SanFranciscoFogs.com Visit our website http://sanfranciscofogs.com/san-francisco-earthquake/ for more information, news, and package deals for your California vacation!

How Earthquake Retrofitting Prevents Structural Damage

By Vishal Ingole

One wonders why observation is not enough to make you learn something. Why does it have to be experience always that can teach you how to protect yourself? So many earthquakes have come over the years in every part of the world. Each year thousands of people lose their houses and property in the wake of this natural calamity. Still people do not recognize the importance of earthquake retrofitting. Every structure and every building is vulnerable to structural damage which comes with earthquake. So when we know the danger, why guarantee ourselves a death by not retrofitting the house? All this process, also called foundation bolting, requires is to add foundation bolts into the concrete though a wooden piece that is placed on top of the foundation. Just by doing this little favor, you can protect your house from becoming shaky when earthquake hits the ground.
The foundation bolts are of two types, expansion foundation bolts and epoxy set foundation bolts. If you have newly built your house the type of bolt you require for successful earthquake retrofitting is expansion bolts. They are less costly and are good for areas more prone to earthquake damage. If the foundation is old, adding epoxy bolts will work well. They should be deeply added into the concrete to ensure better protection.
A term less technical and somewhat similar in purpose to earthquake retrofitting is earthquake proofing. Earthquake proofing refers to making your house resistant to the severe damage earthquakes causes. There are varieties of products in the market to protect you and your property only if instead of ignoring you make use of them at the right time. Home improvement stores have furniture-saving kits which you can use to secure your cabinets, furniture and other such possessions. Apart from this, to earthquake proof your house you can secure your refrigerators and other home appliances by making them stick to the walls. The makers are more concerned about the customer's safety rather than the customer himself. They attach angle clips to the top of the refrigerators so that it can be bolted to the wall only if the customer notices it. Computers and other equipment wherein lies the life of most of us can be protected by placing on them nylon straps that too can be bolted to walls.
Thus through a lot of ways we can save ourselves from the devastation earthquake can bring to your life and property. Earthquake proofing and earthquake retrofitting is a prevention measure to be taken in order to avoid the damage. Once calamity hits, it will take only seconds to reduce an unbolted house to debris. It is either now or never!

Vishal has been providing his SEO-Services for about 4 years now. Also he's written a lot about it and also on many different topics, for writing is his passion. You can see earthquake retrofitting for more articles on the relevant topic or you can visit the website where this topic is being blogged about
earthquake proofingEarthquakes Canada Recent earthquakes reports, with magnitude and location. Includes clickable map, hazards info, stations and data, and research publications.

Earthquake Preparedness - Understanding the Structural Issues of Your Home

By Mostafa EL-Engebawy, Ph.D.

What is the Construction Material of your Home?
Building materials include unreinforced masonry, non-ductile reinforced concrete, wood frame, ductile reinforced concrete, steel including prefabricated buildings, or a combination of these construction materials. Unreinforced masonry buildings and non-ductile reinforced concrete buildings pose the greatest risk to life safety. These two types of buildings are no longer allowed to be built in California, however many of these buildings still exist and are not retrofitted. If not retrofitted, these building types will be heavily damaged or destroyed near the fault line, but may suffer less damage if located 20 miles or more away from the fault line. The most common traditional building types in active seismic regions in the United States are:
Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Homes
Bricks, hollow clay tiles, stone, concrete blocks, or adobe with mortar form the bearing walls of these homes without using steel reinforcement. The mortar holding the masonry together is not strong enough to resist earthquake lateral forces. Earthquake hazard may be reduced by anchoring and bracing the exterior and interior URM walls to the roof and floor framing.
Non-Ductile Reinforced Concrete Homes
This type of construction is generally the case for homes built before the 1980's where the confining transverse steel reinforcement in columns or walls is too widely spaced, short overlap lengths of longitudinal bars in columns and walls, or the detailing of steel at the beam-column connections is inadequate. These homes can be strengthened by adding new walls, bracing, or wrapping the columns with confining material.
In addition, anchorage of masonry or concrete walls to the floor and the roof may be inadequate for unreinforced masonry and non-ductile reinforced concrete homes. As a result, the walls may buckle or pull away from floor/roof anchorage and the structure, or a portion of it, may collapse. Tying the walls to the floor and roof and/or installing an inside steel frame and bolting the wall to it are common retrofitting techniques. However, if the walls are damaged during an earthquake, it would be very expensive to shore up your building, remove damaged walls, and put in new walls.
Wood Frame Homes
This is by far the most prevalent type of construction used for single-family homes and apartment buildings in the United States. They generally perform better than the previous types during earthquake shaking and are less likely to be damaged, especially wood frames using plywood shear walls. However, damage is most likely in older homes built before the 1990's relying on materials like gypsum wallboard (drywall) and stucco that crack and lose both strength and stiffness during a moderate-to-large earthquake. Damage may also occur if the building is not bolted to the foundation, the cripple walls are not reinforced, or in buildings with large openings such as garage doors or windows on the first floor without compensating reinforcement.
Steel Braced Frame Homes
These are steel structures with simple beam-to-column connections, and diagonals members in the vertical planes to resist the lateral seismic forces. Typical earthquake damage includes stretching or buckling of braces with cracked welds or failed bolted connections.
Steel Moment Frame Homes
These are steel structures with rigid beam-to-column connections that are welded or bolted. Typical earthquake damage includes major cracks in welded connections, broken bolts, and enlarged bolt holes. Extensive damage or failure of connections leading to partial collapse of the structure may also develop during a large earthquake. Steel moment frames are more flexible than steel braced frames resulting in large displacements that would lead to greater non-structural and contents damage. However, the understanding of the seismic behavior of welded steel moment frame buildings was significantly improved after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake where comprehensive studies on their performance were conducted and currently implemented in various design codes.
What are the Potential Structural Issues of your Home?
In addition to the type of construction material listed above, the location of your home with respect to active faults, soil properties and strength below the foundations, landsliding and liquefaction susceptibility; there are several other factors influencing the structural damage to your home during moderate-to-large earthquakes. These factors are:
Year Built
Homes constructed or remodeled before the 1980's are more likely to suffer earthquake damage because they do not have adequate reinforcement in the concrete walls or masonry walls, or were not constructed according to modern building codes.
Number of Stories
Homes with more than one story are more likely to suffer earthquake damage.
Soft Story at the First Level
Buildings with soft first floor are structurally weak and may lean or collapse during an earthquake. Numerous buildings, regardless type of construction material, were severely damaged or collapsed in 1994 Northridge earthquake and 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Basement / Crawl Space Bracing
If there is a basement or crawl space under your home, proper bracing of the walls between the concrete foundations and the floor joists can help the structure survive strong shaking.
Foundation Conditions
Your home should have enough bolts connecting the frame to the foundation to prevent overturning and collapse during strong shaking.
Concluding Remark
The 2010 Haiti earthquake is a wake up call for anyone who lives in an active seismic region to know how to reduce the risk to lives and investments by establishing an earthquake preparedness plan that include -among other items- understanding the potential structural issues of your home that would help you decide on retrofitting its structural components. Structural damage is influenced by construction material, year built, number of stories, foundation conditions, unbraced soft story and unbraced crawl space. In the United States, these seismic regions include -but not limited to- Alaska and the West Coast especially California; the Midwestern States especially Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee around the New Madrid and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zones; and the Charleston area in South Carolina.
Additional information on how to secure the contents of your home including illustrative figures and photos can be found at http://hubpages.com/hub/earthquake-preparedness-understanding-the-structural-issues-of-your-home.

My family and I survived the January 17th 1995 Kobe Earthquake although our building partially collapsed. Check my website for additional information on earthquake awareness and preparedness in the United States including earthquake damage photos of Kobe earthquake at http://earthquake-preparedness.net

Earthquake Retrofit Your California Basement in Four Easy Steps to Save Time and Money

By E Weinstein

If you live in Southern California, then you know what it's like to live in Earthquake Country. While we So Cal residents seem to have warmer winter weather than anywhere else in the U.S., there's still a price to pay for living in Los Angeles aside from high rent and traffic jams. We have to pay the premium of Mother Nature's tectonic wraths. In 1994, the Northridge Earthquake was reported as the most costly natural disaster in American history, until Hurricane Katrina. However, the USGS reports that the Big One is past overdue. Los Angeles may be setting a new national record, and it's time you do something about it. Here's what you can do:

1. Identify your foundation type. Most homes in California are built on raised foundations with dirt crawlspaces supported by concrete piers and wood posts. This is what we call a California Basement, unlike the below ground basements you find on the East Coast or the Mid West. Unfortunately, California Basements are not naturally suitable to withstand California tremors absent proper earthquake mitigation building techniques. Most existing homes do not have the necessary up-to-code bolting and anchors necessary to keep the home from sliding off its foundation in the event of an earthquake. Think of a glass of water sitting on top of a coffee table. When an earthquake strikes, the glass will slide right off the table and shatter. Your home behaves the same way.
2. Contact a foundation specialist. Request an inspection to seismic retrofit your home's California Basement. Unless you are a general contractor, then it is strongly recommended that you do not do it yourself. Usually, the space between the dirt floor and the sub-floor of the home is very minimal, and it takes professional labor to safely and accurately perform the work with industrial tools.
3. Obtain a bid. The bid should outline the scope of work, pricing, duration time, and required city permits. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety states that the minimum amount needed to retrofit the average home is $2,500. The pricing depends on the square footage and perimeter length of the home, as well as height of the home (stories or levels) to determine the spacing of the bolts. Higher structures require more bolts, which come with a higher price. If your bid is about $2,500, then it might take only one day to do the work. Otherwise, the work may take up to three days.
4. Contact your insurer. Show your insurance carrier proof of earthquake retrofitting. This will lower your premium. Most insurance companies will not even consider you as a client until earthquake retrofitting is performed. Learn more about earthquake insurance from the California Earthquake Authority.

These are the steps you should take in order to protect your house and your family from earthquakes. Please heed this call to action and call your local retrofitting company for your free inspection now!

E. Weinstein is an in-house writer and editor for Weinstein Retrofitting Systems, a subdivision of Weinstein Construction Corp. A family oriented company, WRS is the largest and oldest earthquake retrofitting company in Southern California. E. encourages all homeowners in So Cal to schedule a free inspection with one of its professional foundation specialists. http://RetrofittingCalifornia.com/

Precautions During an Earthquake

By Anish Kumar

With all of its powers, science and technology can only give you a little clue about the happening of a natural disaster, but, it can do nothing to avoid it.
Same thing can be seen in case of earthquake. Today, you can find such machines that can help you to find out the severity of an earthquake, but, you can do nothing to avoid it altogether. However, when it comes to natural disasters like earthquake, you can do certain things to avoid the loss of lives.
In case of earthquake, you must try to get out of houses and buildings to get to an open place. Also, you must avoid standing close to those things that can fall down. For instance, you must stay away from poles and pillars. However, if you are in your home, then you must try to get under table or desk.
Here, it is imperative to mention that you must say away from the walls on the outside shell of the building as they can collapse easily. In fact, it is a better idea to sit down against an interior wall as they are less likely to collapse. However, it will be better if you can get under a table as it will give you more protection during the earthquake.
As mentioned that you must stay away from such objects that may fall, so, same policy should also be applied inside of your home. For instance, you must stay away from bookcases, windows, cupboards, etc.
When earthquake comes, you must remember that it is better to sit still under a table or beside an inner wall as compared to running out of the house. You must wait until things come under control. You can get out of the home as shaking stops. Along with this, you must also try to strap water heater firmly to the wall. Fire is something that can really create a lot of problem during the earthquake as heaters, damaged gas lines and other such things can contribute towards creating a big fire. So, take some steps to avoid this situation.
These are the basic things that you must do during an earthquake. However, if you are living in one of those areas where earthquake can come time and again, then you must take some steps to avoid a great loss. For instance, you can keep your TV and other such appliances at secure places.
Also, you can keep heavy items away from fragile items. Don't forget to install latches and bolts on cabinets and other such objects that can fall. To avoid fire, you must install flexible pipes along with placing inflammable products in safe places. Finally, you must consult with a professional to see as if your house is strong enough to handle future jolts.
Suffice is to say that if you will be taking some precautionary measures then you will surely become able to lessen the adverse effects of an earthquake.

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How Necessary is Earthquake Insurance?

By Ron Reitz

For San Diego County Residents - Do You Need to Worry About an Earthquake Destroying Your Home or Business?
If you live in California, the US Geological Survey has said that Southern California will most likely be hit with a big earthquake within the next 30 years. They said that there is a 99% chance that we'll experience a quake with a magnitude of at least 6.7. They also said there is 46% chance that we will have a 7.5 magnitude quake - or bigger.
So what does that mean for San Diego County residents? Even though the "big one" is supposed to have an epicenter somewhere in Southern California, most San Diego residents are not highly at risk. Well, at least compared to Orange County and Los Angeles (LA) residents. One indicator is earthquake insurance rates. In San Diego versus LA, the average premium cost in San Diego is only $251 per year compared to Los Angeles and Orange Counties which is $693 per year.
According to a recent San Diego Union Tribune article, a 'Big One' in California would not be like the recent big quake in Chile. Because California's seismic plate tectonics differ from Chile's, our region is not subject to the large magnitude quakes that they experience down there. In California the plates slide sideways while in Chile they slide under each other. Additionally the crust is a lot thinner here than in Chile. Because of those two factors, seismologists predict a maximum 8.1 quake at the worst for Southern California.
The San Andreas Fault, which extends from the Salton Sea to the town of Parkfield in Monterrey County, provides the greatest seismic threat. Luckily though, the Salton Sea area is a long distance away from most San Diego residents. In addition, the San Andreas Fault is inland and would not result in a tsunami, which caused much of the recent damage in Chile. There are several off shore faults near San Diego but they are very small and do not present much risk.
If a big jolt did indeed hit the San Andreas Fault near the Salton Sea, San Diego City residents would definitely feel it, but most likely would not experience catastrophic damage or casualties. Despite that, we do have a few smaller local faults that have the potential to generate a pretty big jolt. The most worrisome San Diego County faults are the Rose Canyon Fault on the east side of Pacific Beach and La Jolla. A little further south and inland, the La Nacion Fault runs through South San Diego, Chula Vista and National City. In the East County mountains and deserts, you need to be aware of the Elsinore, Aqua Caliente and San Jacinto Fault Zones.
So, depending on where you live, there is varying danger of fault movement and earthquake shaking. If you live close to a known fault, you should be aware of the possibility of a large jolt damaging your property. However, there are two other risk factors as well, they are landslide and liquefaction. During an earthquake, especially after wet weather, the violent earth shaking may trigger a landslide. However, of more importance is what your home or business is built upon.
Many San Diego homes and businesses are built on sand or on fill and are vulnerable to what is known as soil liquefaction. During a quake these kinds of soils can act like jello, amplifying a quake's movement more than a home built on rock or settled land. Because of liquefaction, a home that is close to a earthquake epicenter that is built on rock may experience less shaking and damage than a home that is much further away that is built on sand or fill.
How can you find out what is under your home and what danger is neighborhood is in?
A great online resource to check out your specific neighborhood is this SANGIS interactive map to find fault lines, landslide and liquefaction zones in your San Diego community http://files.sangis.org/interactive/viewer/Viewer.asp
It's a little complicated to find the dangers in your San Diego neighborhood. Start by clicking on the "custom map" button. On the right side scroll down and then click on Faults. Next click on Geologic Hazards. That will activate those map layers. Then hit Refresh at bottom of page on the right side.
Now is the fun part. Finding your neighborhood. Using the PAN and ZOOM IN controls, navigate around the map and zoom in to find your neighborhood and its geologic hazards for fault zones, liquefaction and landslides. You can zoom in to your specific block to get an idea of the earthquake related threats around your home or business.
If you are clear of all those, you probably don't need Earthquake Insurance as much as someone whose home is in a liquefaction zone adjacent to an earthquake fault.
by Ronald Reitz, CPPA, President of Quality Claims Management

More info at http://www.qualityclaims.com/homeowner.aspx?sect=_quakeinsurance
Ron Reitz is president of San Diego-based Quality Claims Management Corp., a nationally licensed public insurance adjuster, providing hazard claim recovery services to investors, mortgage servicers, homeowners and businesses. Earlier, he pioneered the national hazard insurance claims business of GMAC-RFC (now GMAC-ResCap). He is the past president of the California Association of Public Insurance Adjusters and currently serves on the board of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.Recent Earthquakes for Los_Angeles 19 Mar 2011 ... Click on an earthquake on the above map for more information. ... Here are the earthquakes appearing on this map, most recent at top . ...

Los Angeles Home Insurance - Do You Need Earthquake Coverage?

By Russell Rabichev

It is worth noting that most Los Angeles home insurance plans do not cover earthquake damages even if the city has a high probability of being hit by earthquakes due to movements in the San Andreas Fault, located in the Southern part of California. This should be a cause for concern particularly because many believe that the state will experience 6.7 magnitude earthquakes in the next three decades. Since you are not really sure whether the quake will hit the northern or southern parts of California, it is important that you prepare for any eventuality. However, before you get the first earthquake policy that you see on the Internet, you might want to know the things that you should look for in such a plan.
One of the first things that you need to do before you get earthquake coverage is to check your existing Los Angeles home insurance policy. You have to make sure that you really do not have any earthquake coverage before you get an additional plan. There are a few companies that provide coverage other than fire and flood. Since California is an earthquake prone state, some insurance companies already include earthquake provisions in standard home insurance policies. There are also other providers that give discounted earthquake policies to their current home insurance policyholders.
For your safety as well as for lower earthquake coverage premiums, it is important for residents that live in a seismic region to regularly inspect and make appropriate repairs to their homes. In Los Angeles, earthquakes are not the only problems that homeowners need to think about. You may need to hire a specialist to check the foundations of your home and roofing. Overall, a well maintained home also has lower Los Angeles home insurance premiums compared to houses that are dilapidated.
In a time of financial uncertainties, cost is an important consideration in everyone's mind. This is true even when shopping for Los Angeles home insurance packages or stand alone earthquake plans. It is often a good idea to get quotes from different insurance companies before you decide. However, you should also remember that price is not everything. It is not always good to get coverage just because of the low premiums. You have to find value for your money. If you can find a homeowner insurance policy that already includes earthquake and flood protection, then that might be a better deal than getting two separate policies. In Los Angeles, you can expect to get additional premium of about $2,500 per year for additional earthquake coverage.

Russell A Rabichev is an online publisher providing great tips on home insurance in LA. To learn more about this topic, visit http://www.InsuranceLosAngeles.us today!

PC Games - San Francisco Earthquake

By Michael Russell

The year was 1985. PC games were almost non existent. The personal computer itself was in its infant stages. The amount of memory you had in a PC was about 64K. PC games? Certainly there weren't any PC games back then even worth playing, not with that kind of memory. Well, actually there was. If you had yourself a Radio Shack TRS 80, there was a game so popular that people who owned these computers couldn't stop playing it. The game was called "San Francisco Earthquake - 1906".
The game was to take place around the time of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. But the game itself was not really about the earthquake. Oh yes, it happens during the game, which only makes things that more difficult, but the main objective is to find your wife who has been kidnapped.
Played entirely in text mode, no graphics, you awake to find a note by your bedside that your wife has been kidnapped. You then receive a phone call with a ransom demand. Suddenly there is a terrible shaking and it hits. You're now in the middle of the worst earthquake in San Francisco history and your wife has been kidnapped. What a way to start the day.
The game is played by issuing commands to the computer such as look, get, north, south, east, west (to move around) open, close, inventory and a number of other commands. There is a very limited help function that basically gives you the list of commands that you can use. The only graphics in the game, if you can call them graphics, occur whenever the aftershocks hit. The screen shakes a bit.
The game, in spite of it being pretty bare bones, was very hard. The number of puzzles you had to solve and items you had to get were numerous to say the least. Many times you would have to backtrack to a place you had been to before to pick up an item that only appears after you got another item or another aftershock hits.
For example. There is one part of the game where you reach a pile of rubble. You search through it but don't find anything. So you move on. Later on during the game, another aftershock hits. If you think enough to go back to the pile of rubble, you will see that it had been disturbed and if you look closely enough you will now find an item that you didn't see before.
You had to really think outside the box to play this game. There was no instruction manual and no clue book. For those of you who are programmers, you can figure out where everything is. The game was written in a combination of BASIC and Assembler Language. By printing out the source and object files, if you can read this stuff, you can figure out exactly the order for every item you need to find and where they are found.
The game was a real challenge. And while it didn't have all the bells and whistles of the modern day PC games, it was far from boring.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to PC Games [http://pc-games-guide.com/] Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Chile's 8.8 Earthquake - City of Conception Moves Over Ten Feet - Seismology 101

By Aaron Kolom

Every once in a while planet Earth puts on a show of raw power for its human inhabitants, like earthquakes - as occurred recently in Chile. Of great interest was the phenomenal relocation of the major city, Conception, which moved westward (into the ocean) by satellite measurement, a distance of over ten feet, nearby cities of capital Santiago and also Valparaiso each moving about one foot. It was if a giant hand had stretched the land along an almost directly westward line (slightly downward) for ten feet at Conception, while adjacent ground moved only a tenth that distance - indicating considerable "shearing" of the land mass both north and south of Conception.
What causes quakes, by tectonic plate theory, is that the ground along either side of a fracture or crack in the ground, called a "fault", moves to relieve a local build-up of stress and strain in a worldwide cycle of strain buildup and strain release - the tectonic plates continent-size. Earthquakes are not randomly distributed over the Earth's surface, tending to concentrate in narrow zones where volcanoes and mountain ranges are also located. The concept of plate tectonics has revolutionized thinking in Earth's sciences in just the last decade, going beyond the initial concept of continental drift, proposed a century ago, and sea-floor spreading. Plate tectonics tells us that the Earth's rigid outer shell (lithosphere) is broken into a mosaic of oceanic and continental plates, which slide over the plastic aesthenosphere, the uppermost layer of the Earth's mantle. The lithosphere covers the entire Earth including the ocean plates, involving sea-floor spreading and mid-ocean ridges, a system of narrow submarine cracks which are found at the center of major oceans. The ocean floor is being continuously pulled apart along these mid-ocean ridges, with hot volcanic material rising from the Earth's mantle to fill the gap, continuously forming new oceanic crust.
We now know that there are seven major crustal plates, subdivided into a number of smaller plates. A plate generally encompasses an entire continent, such as the North American, South American and African plates. The plates are in constant motion, interacting along their margins, where major geological processes take place, such as formation of mountain ranges, valleys, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Techtonic plates are about fifty miles thick, and in constant motion relative to each other, the movement rates varying from 10 to 130 millimeters per year. As we learn more and more about the major plates, we find that many complicated and intricate movements take place. We learn, too, that most of the geological action - mountains, rift valleys, volcanoes, earthquakes, faulting - is due to different types of interaction at the plate boundaries.
One of the keys to plate tectonics was the discovery that the Earth's magnetic field has reversed its polarity 170 times in the last 80 million years. As molten basaltic material squeezes up into the mid-ocean cracks and solidifies, it becomes magnetized according to the Earth's magnetic field polarity. If the field reverses its polarity, the strip of new material is magnetized oppositely, and as the oceanic floor continues to spread, the new strips of rock are carried away on either side. Using these magnetic strips as evidence of movement, it has become clear that the Earth's surface consists of a mosaic of crustal plates continually jostling each other. With a continual influx of new volcanic material at the ocean ridges, old crust becomes destroyed where plates collide, and earthquakes occur - also, as happens in Chile, one plate is forced under the other (subduction - downward movement), sometimes to be consumed deep in the mantle.
In the case of the Chilean earthquakes, the Nazca plate moving under the the South American plate is what caused the major quake back in 1960, as well as the recent one and others in between. The Nazca plate continues to dive down below the continent, this constant slow movement (with some occasional rapid shifts leading to big jolts) is what creates frequent earthquakes throughout that region. The most powerful earthquake in recent times was the 1960 Chile earthquake; measured by the amount of energy released by the movement of the ground - 9.5 on the Moment Magnitude (Mw) scale. The epicenter (the point on the earth's surface directly above the focus point) was 36 miles below the ocean floor, about 100 miles west of the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. Two very large quakes happened in Chile: on March 3, 1985, and on July 30, 1995, both with a magnitude of about 8. Chilean earthquakes are neither rare nor small, seeming to occur about every 25 to 100 years - and will apparently continue as long as the Nazca plate continues subducting, crashing into and diving under the South American plate: the same geologic event that, over time, has built up the Andean mountain range.
It is estimated that about 140 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater will occur each year, almost all within the critical areas, composing about 10 percent of the Earth's surface. The interiors of the plates themselves are largely free of large earthquakes, although there have been notable exceptions: the 1811-1812 earthquakes at New Madrid, Missouri and the 1886 earthquake at Charleston, South Carolina.

Aaron Kolom qualifies as a "rocket scientist" with over 50 years aerospace engineering: Stress Analyst to Chief of Structural Sciences on numerous military aircraft, to Corp. Director Structures and Materials, Asst. Chief Engineer Space Shuttle Program through first three flights (awarded NASA Public Service Medal), Rockwell International Corp.; Program Manager Concorde SST, VP Engineering TRE Corp.; Aerospace Consultant.
Aaron L. Kolom - from Brainwashed* and Miracles**
* The Perceived Mind-Set of the Secular Elite re Darwin Evolutionism!
** To Believe in Them - Have Faith - In Science and Logic!
Visit website at http://www.brainwashedandmiracles.com to learn a bit about Science vs the Bible, from conflict to confirmation.