Uh oh, more oarfish sightings!!!

[essnce629]

Two LIVE oarfish were seen up close and videotaped and then later died in the shallow waters! This, along with the dream I had 3 nights ago that we were hit with a huge 8.9+ earthquake with a ton of devastation while DS2 and I were down in San Diego while DS1 and DH stayed home (exact scenario happening this weekend) is not comforting. Oh, and did I mention that several of my dreams have come true before!!! Hoping it's not going to come true this time, but just in case I've been updating my earthquake kit yesterday and today and telling DH where everything is since I won't be here!

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/rare-video-of-oarfish-captured-on-baja-beach/

[trentsmom]

Anytime I see oarfish on tv or the computer, I think about what you said a while back about their connection to earthquakes. They were on Octonauts a few days ago, and I just finished reading an article about them. Strange looking creatures. I hope it's just a fluke that they're showing up.

[citymama]

Uh oh! Let's stay practical - what have you been updating in your earthquake kit? We are so out of date! Resolving to work on this over spring break next week.


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[crayonblue]

We need an earthquake kit! What do we need????

[elektra]

Hopefully they were doing their thing for last week's earthquake. :) I had a very vivid dream on Saturday night but about a zombie apocalypse. Hopefully not some kind of earthquake premonition!

[MSWR0319]

Everytime we hear about an earthquake in CA, I tell DH about the Oarfish. When the last one happened, he said "I think your friend is on to something with these oarfish". Hope you have a safe weekend and the Oarfish do not mean anything.

[citymama]

We need an earthquake kit! What do we need????

Here are some links:
http://www.sf72.org/home

http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit

[essnce629]

http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit

Yes, this is the link I posted on FB two days ago with a great starter list. I've been working on our kit since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, so 3 years now.

We have 2 extra large watertight plastic storage trunks from The Container Store. One for food and food supplies (paper plates, utensils, can opener, etc) and the other for all the emergency kit items. Then we have 3 Go Bags (backpacks) which you want to be able to grab quickly in an evacuation. One for DS2 and I, one for DS1, and one for DH (he has one at work too). In them we have changes of clothes, personal emergency info/contact numbers/photographs, personal hygiene items, 2 bottles of water, an emergency flashlight/radio, whistle, emergency sleeping bag, a face mask, and some high calorie food bars. In addition to the regular emergency kit items from the list on the ready.gov website, we also have about 40 gallons of water, a camp stove and fuel, a gas can, sleeping bags, an emergency toilet w/ a bag of cat litter, extra food for our cat, headlamps for all of us, a LED lantern, and a fireproof box with all our important documents and paperwork. And you'll need cash too!

This is the Container Store watertight trunk that we have:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/totesTrunks?productId=10024301&green=C6927942-93BF-5A69-0931-900F90F8E31E

Oh and I got some emergency food items from Mountain House. Their cans have 10 servings and a 25 year shelf life and their pouches have a 5 year shelf life. I got their "Just in Case Classic Assortment Bucket" that has 6 different meals (29 servings) and a can of their Granola w/ milk and blueberries and a can of their lasagna. Prices are cheapest on Amazon.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/

[essnce629]

Oh, and I ordered a 2-pack of these emergency food bars. One to keep in the car and one to keep in the house. Each pack has 9 bars and a 5 year shelf life. I had regular food bars in the car before, but they always expired after a few months and it was too hard to keep track of constantly. These remain stable in high heat so I can just forget about them for awhile.

http://www.amazon.com/S-O-S-Rations-Emergency-3600-Calorie/dp/B00AFOF2DG

[azzeps]

Nice going, essnce629! I need to do this!

Don't forget to put chocolate in your kits!!!

[crayonblue]

Dumb non-native Californian question: is Latia's list typical? No offense, Latia, just wondering if you are super prepared or if I'm woefully clueless (definitely closer to clueless, I'm sure!).

[essnce629]

Dumb non-native Californian question: is Latia's list typical? No offense, Latia, just wondering if you are super prepared or if I'm woefully clueless (definitely closer to clueless, I'm sure!).

Ha, ha, I probably have more than the average person! Up until the 2011 Japan earthquake I had NOTHING and we had been back living in CA for 2 years already. We bought our house in 2011 and I finally felt like I should be prepared since we had 2 kids at that point and didn't plan on moving any time soon. I also have a fairly big closet in the house to keep most of the stuff. My mom on the other hand, lives alone in San Diego and pretty much just has a few extra gallons of water. She lives in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment though and doesn't have much space to keep anything. She does have a few canned goods in her pantry she could probably eat and since it's just her she probably wouldn't starve. I do think she should at least have an emergency radio, face mask, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and a flashlight or lantern that doesn't need batteries! I actually thought of making her a basic earthquake kit for Christmas, but didn't get around to it!

I have friends with kids in San Diego who have probably never even thought of having an earthquake kit and then I have one friend who is like me and more prepared (especially since she goes camping a lot and lots of camping stuff can be used in an emergency situation). I've been adding stuff slowly to my kit over the past 3 years, so I definitely didn't go out all at once and spend hundreds of dollars!

[Nooknookmom]

Two LIVE oarfish were seen up close and videotaped and then later died in the shallow waters! This, along with the dream I had 3 nights ago that we were hit with a huge 8.9+ earthquake with a ton of devastation while DS2 and I were down in San Diego while DS1 and DH stayed home (exact scenario happening this weekend) is not comforting. Oh, and did I mention that several of my dreams have come true before!!! Hoping it's not going to come true this time, but just in case I've been updating my earthquake kit yesterday and today and telling DH where everything is since I won't be here!

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/rare-video-of-oarfish-captured-on-baja-beach/

Dang ru my IRL friend who also has those dreams about earthqukes that happen?? She just updated her kit with the brea shaker.

[citymama]

Dumb non-native Californian question: is Latia's list typical? No offense, Latia, just wondering if you are super prepared or if I'm woefully clueless (definitely closer to clueless, I'm sure!).

I think her list is the right one, that alas most of us don't have. The one thing we do have is lots of water - we bought giant barrels from an earthquake preparedness website a couple of years ago. Our food, go-bags etc are all very out of date, the kids have used all our flashlight batteries up, we are so not prepared! I think we do have a full medical kit we bought online. We really need spare glasses, given that the oldest 3 of the 4 of us are severely myopic.

My BIL bought an earthquake kit off amazon.com for around $200 that has a very long shelf life and will feed/provide emergency supplies and medical kit for a family of 4. I think that's worth looking at if you are starting from scratch.

Just as important as the stuff is the emergency plan made with family and kids - meeting spot, what to do in an earthquake, etc.

[Momit]

Dumb non-native Californian question: is Latia's list typical? No offense, Latia, just wondering if you are super prepared or if I'm woefully clueless (definitely closer to clueless, I'm sure!).

When we lived in CA we bought a kit from Costco and made a bag with personal items. The kit sounds similar to the one Citymama described. I think it came in a 5 gallon bucket.

[crayonblue]

OK, I'm on it. Will stock up an emergency earthquake kit. :)

[specialp]

RE: out of date stuff, I have a list on top with the food & medications inside and their expiration dates. I check it twice a year whenever the time changes. Whenever it is close, I pull that stuff, put it in our pantry and replenish it and maybe the batteries. The time change is an easy reminder for me to use to test our smoke alarms and check our emergency kit. Just in case this helps anyone.

[craftysierra]

I need to work on our supplies again we finally have settled into our space and have places to store things. I just need to make a plan on where to store it and get it back there since we went camping last month and used all the backpacks I had prepared. :) I love the idea of checking when time changes.
Sierra

[Tenasparkl]

RE: out of date stuff, I have a list on top with the food & medications inside and their expiration dates. I check it twice a year whenever the time changes. Whenever it is close, I pull that stuff, put it in our pantry and replenish it and maybe the batteries. The time change is an easy reminder for me to use to test our smoke alarms and check our emergency kit. Just in case this helps anyone.

That's a great idea. Thanks!

[RedSuedeShoes]

This is something I've been meaning to work on for years. We live in the Pacific NW, so earthquake is a real possibility. (It will happen, just a question of whether it's in my lifetime!) Seems like every time I start looking at info, I get overwhelmed and end up not doing anything! So this week (thanks to this thread), I am committing to do 5 small things that will at least have us better prepared.

We do have some things already, but I'm guessing I should store them all together in a box. Where's the best place - basement or garage?

Also, what kind of dust mask is most useful? The firm shaped kind or the soft kind our dental hygienist wears? Any specific links on Amazon would be great, too.

All the sites I looked at (through the above links) say to have a smaller kit in your car. I have trouble imagining where I'd keep it. Although I do already have first aid kit, etc. in there.

Thanks for the kick in the pants!

[specialp]

All the sites I looked at (through the above links) say to have a smaller kit in your car. I have trouble imagining where I'd keep it. Although I do already have first aid kit, etc. in there.

Thanks for the kick in the pants!

Amazon search liberty bag large drawstring backpack. It's $6-7 and I keep these filled in our car. Holds everything. Mine goes under the floorboard thing by the spare tire and DH's is in his backseat as he has no trunk. Another option is $2 laundry mesh bag from WalMart. That thing is huge, but I prefer a backpack in case you need to walk. I will try to link masks later.

[essnce629]

Also, what kind of dust mask is most useful? The firm shaped kind or the soft kind our dental hygienist wears? Any specific links on Amazon would be great

These are the masks we have:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002YKBV2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1397066179&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

[essnce629]

In the car I've always had an "emergency bag" mostly in case one of the kids needed a change of clothes or I ran out of diapers/wipes when DS2 was young. So mine is just an old diaper bag with a full change of clothes for both kids, a microfiber towel, washcloth, wipes, hand sanitizer, AF supplies for me, a mylar emergency blanket, flashlight and extra batteries, glow sticks, and some food bars. I also have a full first aid kit in the car, jumper cables, and 4 bottles of water. I also usually keep 2 thin fleece throw blankets in my trunk.