How prepared are you for a quake?

Last weekend’s 6.0 earthquake what caused significant damage to several buildings and numerous injuries in Napa, was a stark reminder that Petalumans can, and should, do more - both individually and as a community - to prepare for a major disaster.

Unlike other parts of the country, where weather emergencies are the biggest threat, Petaluma sits squarely in earthquake country alongside the Rogers Creek Fault. It’s not a matter of IF a major earthquake will occur here; rather, it’s WHEN it will happen.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, six of the world’s 15 largest recorded earthquakes have occurred during the last 12 years along the Pacific Rim, and there is good reason to believe that a much more powerful earthquake will occur here sometime soon.

As bad as last weekend’s earthquake was for Napa residents, it was not nearly as destructive as the kind scientists say is long overdue for the Bay Area.

In 2007, U.S. Geological Survey scientists estimated that there is a 63 percent probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the Bay Area in the next 25 years.

During such a major disaster, there would, inevitably, be numerous injuries and deaths, similar in scope to those which occurred during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. In that event, a magnitude 6.9 quake struck the entire Bay Area that was roughly 22 times as powerful as the one centered in American Canyon Sunday morning. Whereas the Napa earthquake injured about 200 people, the Loma Prieta earthquake killed 63 people and injured nearly 4,000. Should such a quake occur here in the North Bay, survivors could be without water and electricity for several weeks, even months. People would need to rely entirely on themselves, without help from emergency services or government aid for up to a week or more.

Sadly, most Petaluma residents live in a state of denial about major earthquakes and are totally unprepared for such a calamity. Perhaps last weekend’s quake will serve as a wake-up call that there are simple and sensible ways to prepare and reduce risk when the next big one hits, as it surely will.

The single most important thing that Petalumans can do to prepare is to make a disaster kit with several days of non-perishable food, a can opener, several gallons of water per person, a battery-powered radio, extra batteries, a flashlight, water filters and a first aid kit.

Along with a disaster kit, families should create a disaster plan that covers how to contact each other, where to meet and what to do if a disaster strikes. Everyone should know where to reunite if separated, and how to shut off the gas and water.

Neighbors and neighborhoods can be a primary source of help and focus in preparing for emergencies. Community and neighborhood emergency response team training (called CERT and NERT) is available locally. If neighborhoods join together to form disaster plans, those in need will have more people and resources to rely on.

We encourage all Petalumans to have a disaster kit in place and, for those so inclined, to get trained in neighborhood or community emergency response. Doing so could be the difference between life and death when a major earthquake strikes.

For more information on how to prepare, visitready.gov. For information on community emergency response training, visitsccert.org. Or consider attending the Community Emergency Preparedness Fair, hosted by Petaluma Boy Scout Troop 9, on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Friedman’s Home Improvement Store.