It's July with a hot summer weekend with lot's to do and a perfect time to get it done until the earthquake hits, and it's a big one. At 8:42 AM on July 9th, Northern Nevada is shook by a massive 7.5 earthquake lasting almost a full minute and you are caught in it. Damage is widespread and utilities are interrupted. Travel is restricted due to road and bridge damage. It's time to activate your plan and get your kit. We are going to begin our Earthquake Drill with a simulated event giving us a chance to practice our plans, test our kits and hone our skills. At a weekend of your choosing if you are unable to commit to this weekend, we will start our drill. Begin by activating your family meet up plan to ensure everyone knows where to go. Physically turn off the water to your property or at each sink and toilet. Turn off the main power breaker to your home or apartment. Simulate turning off the gas to your home although please don't actually do this; otherwise you will need the gas company to come out and turn it back on along with your pilot lights. Your refrigerator if left closed will normally last a 24-hour period. Most Preppers keep bottled water in the freezer to move to the refrigerator to extend this time period. Having a thermometer in both the refrigerator and freezer is a cheap but effective way to ensure the safety of your food by knowing when to throw it out. Plan on not being able to flush your toilets unless you have stored extra water to do so. Your hot water heater is a great source of additional water. If you haven't drained a hot water heater, please learn to do so for this drill. It's simple and helps extend the life of your unit. Do not use a bar-be-que or white gas camp stove inside your home due to carbon dioxide poisoning. This is VERY dangerous and should never be done. You can use these to cook your meals but only outside. For those that feel confident in their plans and preparations and want to enhance their training, I would encourage you to begin sooner and extend you drill for 48 hours. It is meant to be inconvenient and to put you through different situations so sometimes it may take longer than 24 hours to see an issue manifest. Start Friday instead of Saturday and restore the power and water on Sunday evening or even for the most adventurous, Monday. If there was an actual earthquake, most of us still have to attempt to go to work and what better way to really test out your plans than when you have to work on a schedule and get to work on time. If you are up to the task, add an additional element to your drill like traveling by foot or bike somewhere, helping a neighbor in some way as though you would in a real event or communicating to others in the group your drill in real time. Maybe you might invite over friends or family to share in your drill as though they weren't able to stay at their own homes. What would a real event look like for you and add that element.Please post your experiences and lessons learned on our forum. What went well? What didn't work like you expected? What big take away lesson did you learn? Did you add a twist, extra tasks or manage in an additional element to your drill? So, make a plan, get a kit and get ready to rumble.
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