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Emergencies & Your Health

Planning ahead to protect ourselves in a disaster, including people who are medically vulnerable.

Earthquake

    

In an earthquake - drop, cover, & hold on.

Regardless of where you find yourself during an earthquake, it's important to act fast. Here's what to do if you find yourself in the following locations:

  • Car: pull over, stop, and set your parking brake.
  • In bed: turn face down and cover your head and neck with a pillow.
  • Outdoors: stay outdoors and away from buildings.
  • Inside: remain indoors - don't run outside, and avoid doorways and windows.

Communications After an Earthquake

In a major earthquake, local phone communication is likely to be difficult. (A 2017 USGS study of the Hayward Fault estimated that disruptions to cellular towers would bring down cell phone networks for approximately 5 days.)

So, keep the advice on making phone calls in emergencies in mind.

In these situations it's really helpful to have a designated check-in person outside the local area. They can be reached (by text if not by cell phone) to coordinate with rescue teams if necessary as well as with family and friends. 

Was That an Earthquake Just Now?

Check these earthquake maps and trackers for up-to-the-moment data:

The U.S. Geological Service offers a real-time earthquake notification service, as well as links to RSS services. See:

There are a few systems that give earthquake alerts or a few moment's advance warning. You may want to try out these:

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions, or asteroids. They could happen anywhere along the coast.

To be prepared in the event of a tsunami, Ready.gov advises:

  • If you live near, or regularly visit a coastal area, learn about the risk of tsunami in the area. Some at-risk communities have maps with evacuation zones and routes. If you are a visitor, ask about community plans.
  • Learn the signs of a potential tsunami, such as an earthquake, a loud roar from the ocean, or unusual ocean behavior, such as a sudden rise or wall of water or sudden draining of water showing the ocean floor.
  • Know and practice community evacuation plans and map out your routes from home, work, and play. Pick shelters 100 feet or more above sea level, or at least one mile inland.

Maps of tsunami risk are available for all coastal areas of California, to use in planning evacuation routes. 

What to do Immediately After an Earthquake

Long but very detailed video:

Safely Returning Home After an Earthquake

Do not return to a building that has had obvious earthquake damage until local emergency response teams declare that it is safe. It may need to be individually inspected, which could take awhile.

The text on this page is copyright Lise M. Dyckman and PlaneTree Health Library, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Linked contents are the responsibility of their creators or copyright holders.