How to prepare for an earthquake An earthquake is a very dangerous natural disaster, particularly in the Pacific Rim region( 太平洋板块 ). In fact, scientists now believe that the highly populated Southern Californian ( 加利福尼亚的 )area is long overdue for a massive earthquake along the San Andreas Fault.

After an earthquake, your home could be a mess and you might be left without a water supply and energy. There are several things you can do to prepare for an earthquake before it happens, to minimize the damage and potential for injury in and around your home.

1. Make sure that the hot water heater is stable and cannot topple ( 倒下；不牢固 ) over. Evaluate your electrical wiring, electrical appliances( 家用电器 ), and gas connections. Do any repairs if needed. During an earthquake, faulty fittings and wiring

can become a potential fire danger.When securing appliances, be sure not to drill holes in them—use existing holes, or make loops from leather, etc., that can be glued onto an appliance. Keep appliances turned off and unplugged, so that the outlet is not near the metal part of the cord.

2. Chimney bricks fall easily during an earthquake. 1)Look around your house. The house appearance should also be checked for weaknesses during an earthquake. 2)If your house has a chimney, this can be a source of injury if it topples during an earthquake. Secure it to the walls of the house using galvanized( 镀锌的 ) metal angles and bands at the top, ceiling line, and base.

3. Practice earthquake drills at home. 1)Identify safe places both indoors and outdoors. Examples include: under study furniture, against an inside wall (where the other side is not exposed to the outdoors), away from mirrors or windows, or in the open away from buildings and trees. If you don’t need them anymore, you can throw them away.

2)Read wikiHow’s articles on How to survive an earthquake. Deal with being indoors during an earthquake, and how to react during an earthquake for more information on what to do during an earthquake.

3)Educate yourself and those in your family about what your family should do in the event of an earthquake. Decide in advance on the best place to go during an earthquake and what they can do if you are incapacitated. 4)If you have civil defense safety meeting points, be sure that every member of the family knows the location of the one closest to home, school, and work.

4. Try to develop routes and methods for getting home after an earthquake has occurred. Since there is no precise time of day when an earthquake might strike, you may be at work, at school, on a bus, or in a train when one strikes. It is highly likely that you will need to know several ways to get home since roads and bridges will likely be obstructed for long periods of time.

5. Prepare suitable supplies. Prepare disaster supplies in advance. The following items are important to have readily available in your home, situated in a central location: 1) Flashlight with extra batteries(preferably one for each individual). 2) Portable, battery-operated radio with extra batteries.

3) Batteries will be hard to find, if you want to find them. Some models will charge cell phones, but the cell phone towers may be damaged, even destroyed. 4) Emergency food and water (some sources say you should have up to 2 weeks worth of extra food on hand in case rescue workers cannot reach your location).