How to prepare for an earthquake

An earthquake gives no warning. There is no preparation window like a hurricane, no alert hours ahead. What you have during the shaking is what you did beforehand, and what you can do afterwards depends on what is already in your house.

This guide covers the three phases — before, during and after — with current USGS and FEMA guidance. Every figure links to its source.

Before: the three things that actually matter

Earthquake preparation tends to arrive as a forty-point list nobody finishes. If you only do three things, make them these.

Anchor whatever can fall on you. Tall shelving, televisions, the water heater, heavy frames above beds and sofas. Most injuries in moderate quakes come from falling objects, not collapsing structures. Straps are cheap and take an afternoon.

Store water. Water mains are among the first services to fail and the last to return. Start at three days and work up to two weeks if you have somewhere to keep it.

Agree on a meeting point and an out-of-area contact. Local calls saturate before long-distance ones. A relative in another city acting as a message hub beats ten attempts to reach your neighbours.

During: drop, cover and hold on

USGS guidance has not changed: drop, cover and hold on.

1. Drop to the ground before the shaking knocks you down.
2. Cover your head and neck. If a sturdy table is nearby, get under it. If not, move against an interior wall away from windows.
3. Hold on to whatever is covering you and move with it if it shifts.

If you are in bed, stay there and cover your head with a pillow. If you are in a car, pull over somewhere clear — away from bridges, overpasses and power lines — and stay inside until it stops.

After: the aftershock is coming

Aftershocks can be nearly as strong as the main event and arrive with no warning. First things once the shaking stops:

• Check people before things. Injuries, breathing, bleeding.
• Smell. If there is gas, close the main valve, open windows and leave. Do not switch on lights or use a phone indoors.
• Put on closed shoes. Broken glass underfoot is the most common injury of the following hours.
• Listen to the radio, not to rumours. A battery or crank radio gives you official information even with the mobile network down.
• Text instead of calling. SMS gets through when voice networks are jammed.

What to check before going back inside

Item	What to look for	If you find it
Structure	New cracks in load-bearing walls, doors that no longer close	Do not enter; wait for inspection
Gas	Smell, hissing, meter spinning with nothing running	Close the valve and ventilate
Electrical	Sparks, burning smell, loose wiring	Cut the main breaker
Water	Pooling, abnormal pressure	Close the stopcock
Chimney	Cracks, displaced bricks	Do not use until inspected