What to take in an earthquake and tsunami...

[SadieKate]

I personally wouldn't worry about anything replaceable by insurance or just money. People talk all the time about losing photos and heirlooms. We were burglarized in '94 and I lost two cameos, one from my grandmother and one from a great-grandmother, both of which I had worn in my very simple low-key wedding ceremony. Bill lost his USAFA class ring and temporarily thought he had also his grandfather's gold cufflinks (the only item of his grandfather's he had). These were the things that hurt the most. Dogs, meds, sleeping bags, water, etc., I agree with but I can replace my bikes (after a long argument with the insurance company on how much they're worth ).

[DeniseGoldberg]

...Dogs, meds, sleeping bags, water, etc., I agree with but I can replace my bikes (after a long argument with the insurance company on how much they're worth ).

Of course you're right - and my thought process as I was riding the coast was that if there was a tsunami (and luckily there wasn't) that my only priority was to get myself out of there, and that all of my belongings could all be left behind. I had similar feelings when I had scheduled a tour in Wyoming in what turned out to be a bad fire year. I canceled that trip rather than be within a mile of forest fires with no transportation other than a bike.

--- Denise

[Trek420]

You'll laugh, I slept through the warning. Woke up to see on the screen "the Tsunami warning has been canceled". Tsunami? What Tsunami?

Guess i would not have known what hit me. Comforting to know, also thank you to all my family who did NOT call to see if I was going.

Guess that's cause I live near the bay but that's bay, not ocean, so sheltered from it. I can not believe the idiots on the news who headed right down to the beach to see....have we taught you NOTHING?

As for a real Tsunami evacuation I think a bike could be an advantage. I don't know how far up or how far away you need to be to be safe (I should find out) but you might whizz by those stuck in traffic.

Now to get a trailer for Mae and then it's bike, me, dog all in one unit ;-)

[wabisabi]

Well, in case of aftershocks, I thought having a bike to get around might be good (I am also on the college's emergency response team--fortunately, there are almost no students here at the moment)--hmm, Trek, maybe I should look into that trailer, my dog kids are rather elderly! I am also on the Bay side, and there are communities located on the spits of land that frame the bay, so they were definitely evacuating last night. According to the interactive map on our website, our area is OK, but who really knows? You are right, Denise, the wave took out a big part of that community, which is about an hour from here. It is probably wise for everyone to think about those priceless things (e.g.such as in my case, my deceased mom's wedding ring) that one would want to grab in any emergency. People here were also pretty blase, at least in my 'hood; the tsunami warnings are normal in ocean based quakes, it is just that after the Indonesian wave we all respond with a higher level of anxiety, plus this one was a long roller one.

[Deanna]

Wabisabi:

Did you feel the quake? A friend of mine lives up in McKinleyville and felt absolutely nothing--they were bowling, so that might explain it. They heard the tsunami warning was because of an earthquake in Hawaii, so I'm wondering if my local news channel exaggerated the effects.

Deanna

[wabisabi]

Deanna, yes, definitely; I was at a semi work dinner, it was long and rolling and the pictures were moving on the wall. One of the people at the table said "5.4." Then we all made a guess. It was a 7 at least. Turns out we were in what is consider one of the primo good earthquake-proof buildings. That is funny, I could see how bowling could mask it! Happily, so far no aftershocks. I am happy to live in the 'hasn't flooded in 5,000 yrs.' area. http://www.humboldt.edu/~geodept/ear...ldt_hazard.pdf


And, Denise, I would definitely give you a ride!