Are you ready for the "Big One"???
With all the little quakes we've had in the desert and surrounding areas lately, it got us thinking about being prepared for one that really shakes us up. We did some research and came up with this list of things you can do to protect you and your family.

The best way for any of us to survive an earthquake is to have a plan, be prepared, and make sure that everyone close to you is on the proverbial same page.

Create an emergency phone list and keep it in your wallet. You may not be able to charge your cell phone to have access to those numbers and you might not be at the same place as your personal phone book or day runner when the emergency strikes. Make sure your family has a copy of this list. People on this list should include at least one (if not more) out of the area contacts. If phone lines are down in the desert, having someone out of the area to call can keep you and yours in touch until you can all get together. If you have small children, laminate your list and put it in one of your child's shoes...make copies and put them in every pair if you can.

Decide on a place to meet if a devastating earthquake strikes while everyone is at work and/or school.

We all learned in school to "duck & cover" in an emergency, right? As an FYI, we've read a controversial article called the Triangle of Life on how to survive an earthquake that totally junks that theory. The author has been slammed on Snopes.com for it, but some of the theories make sense to us. We aren't going to tell you what to do, we're just sharing information we've gotten - you can and must make your own decision about what to do.
Link to FEMA's Earthquake Advice
Link to American Red Cross Earthquake Advice
Link to American Red Cross rebuttal to the Triangle of Life
Link to Earthquake Country (lots of earthquake safety links)

Although gas is outrageously expensive, don't let your car get less than half full. If you have to leave the desert, you want to make sure you have enough gas to get where you're going. Gas pumps won't work if there's no power.

Create a spot in your garage, next to an exterior wall, where you can stockpile emergency supplies. Use tubs with lids and stack it/them on the sturdiest metal rack you can afford. If walls collapse, you won't have as much rubble to sift through to get to your things & the rack should protect the tubs from being crushed.
Best idea we've heard of is to dig a very large/deep hole in your back yard. Place a large trash can (with lid) in the hole. Place your supplies in the trash can, cover the top of it with plastic, put the lid on, then fill the hole back up. Your supplies will keep fresher longer because they'll stay cooler and away from air. But, once every 16 months we suggest you dig it up and replace some of the perishables...just to be on the safe side!
Our emergency stuff is packed in a truck box...it's solid metal (it's OLD) and we're guessing it will withstand pretty much anything that falls on it!

Because I (Halle) was a Girl Scout leader for so many years, I got into being prepared for pretty much anything that a bunch of young girls could do. I took my troop camping often enough to learn what was necessary to their (and my) survival. George & I looked at all my packing lists and found that most everything I needed while camping was basically the best stuff to keep in our survival box. Of course there's a few extras that would be overkill on a camping trip...

Here's our list of "must haves" in our survival box:

Cash - in small denominations and as much as you can afford to put aside. If our electricity goes kaputsky, so do ATM's, cash registers, etc.
Flashlight(s)
AM/FM radio
Batteries - for flashlight(s) and radio (do NOT store batteries in the flashlight or radio)
First Aid Kit - include a supply of prescription RX's
Dust masks
Water bottles - sealed from the store - 1 gallon per person for 3 days suggested
Water purification tablets
Toilet paper
Blankets - one per family member
Washcloths (can be used as a compress, to clean, or to use as part of a compression dressing)
Fire starter kit (best one has magnesium as a fire starter)
Canned food, especially meat (protein)
Powdered milk
Can opener
Sewing kit (include at least one spool of nylon thread (like fishing line - but thinner) - very handy stuff)
Clothes pins (very handy for privacy curtains)
Swiss army knife - one with lots of goodies
Tools: Wrench or pliers, hammer, prybar or large screwdriver
Garbage bags (small & extra large)
Large tarp or a couple small ones
Pre-wrapped moist towelettes
Whistle
Socks & flipflops (in case you don't grab shoes on the way out of the house)

More "must haves" will be posted shortly -