Earthquake Survival Guide

When do you realize your joke is not funny…when it really IS an earthquake that is shaking the building!  Everyone by now has been able to joke about the DC Earthquake that literally shook up our Tuesday afternoon.  I have to say it was freaky.  The scariest part (besides the somewhat prophetic dream/nightmare I had the night before about an evacuation) was not having an intrinsic reaction of what to do in the event of an earthquake.  Normally I am impressed with my natural instinct in catastrophes but this one, not so much.

I must have been absent, not paid attention, or never learned the drill for an earthquake in elementary school.  I mean obviously you don’t get in a bathtub to avoid the earth opening up and the building you’re in becoming a pancake (which there aren’t any bathtubs in my office anyway if you wondered).

This unpredictable, uncontrollable event did inspire me to look up what to do during an earthquake on FEMA.  My favorite line is the first one on the site “stay as safe as possible during an earthquake.” As if I wanted to take that moment to be really risky! But it is definitely helpful for future reference (and now I am prepared for other disasters like volcanic eruptions in DC)

I also decided to make my own do’s and don’ts based on my experience: Continue reading