This handbook provides information about why we should care about earthquakes in Southern California, what we should do to be safe and reduce damage, and also what we should know about earthquake basics.
Assemble Your Disaster Preparedness Kits
In the event of a major disaster all residents should maintain a disaster preparedness kit to meet the basic needs of individuals until professional emergency services become available.
Here's What You Need to Have:
5 Gallons of drinking water for each person in the household
Non-perishable food items: canned goods, protein and energy bars, fruit juices, powdered milk, cereal
Can opener
Baby formula
Copies of personal documents, such as birth and marriage records, bank accounts, and driver's licenses
Emergency contact numbers (in addition to 911)
Flashlight and portable battery operated radio
Fresh batteries
Five-day supply of medications
First-aid kit
Pet food
Sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows
Fresh towels
Toiletries
Tennis shoes
Here's What You Need to Know:
Disaster preparedness kits should be assembled to provide five days of self reliance for all family members.
All disaster preparedness items should be kept in air-tight plastic containers in easily accessible locations within your home, workplace, and vehicle.
Establish meeting points as a way to re-establish contact if phones and cars are not available.
Channels of communication available to the public in the event of a major disaster include: Long Beach Television Channel 8, radio station KKJZ 88.1 FM, door-to-door notification by local police, and the Reverse 911 System that will enable an emergency broadcast to a precise geographic area or community.
The Long Beach Fire Department has 132 firefighters stationed citywide 24 hours a day, year round, but if a major incident occured, all 425 firefighters and 70 support staff members would be called to duty.
Long Beach has a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center, which has its' own power source and is built to withstand a 7.1 quake, would become an operation command post for relief efforts. The center is located in the 5th Council District on the corner of Redondo and Spring.
For more detailed information on disaster preparedness click here.
