The Great Shake Out

Today is a day known across the United States as tax day. Unless you filed for an extension, today you need to mail or e file those taxes. In Utah, however, today is The Great Shake Out. Every 350 to 400 years there is a large earthquake along the Wasatch front. It has been 350 years since the last big earthquake, so we are due for another one. Schools and businesses ran drills commanding their students and employees to crouch under their desks. In the meeting at my internship site, we watched a short video projecting the disaster that an earthquake can cause and some simple survival essentials. You should have a fire extinguisher in your house and three days worth of water per person.
There is a website providing information about earthquake preparedness.There are several pages that answer questions or provide information on how to join in on The Great Shake Out. There is a video on how to make a Grab N Go kit. You can find information about the drop, cover and hold on method of self preservation. This apparently is the new way to ride out earthquakes. The site has several games. You can play an interactive game which presents you with a room full of normal objects. You click on the items and answer a question on how to secure them properly. You click as fast as you can because you never know when the earthquake will shake up your house and you will see your preparedness level. The other game presents scenarios in which you are given a worst case scenario and have to decide the best course of action.
I play my own version of "worst case scenario." I grew up in a part of Mexico where earthquakes are frequent. Sometimes I miss them so as I walk along I ask myself, "If a massive earthquake hits right now, what would I do?" I look around for places free of power lines, away from tall buildings and away from windows. A little bit further on, I find a new place. Sometimes when I'm at work or driving in a car I also think about what I would do in case of emergency. I know it is a little strange, but it is a rather entertaining game. Apparently the government also thinks it is a good way to train people for emergencies.
Are you ready for the next big one?