On February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria at 4:17 in the morning, while most people were asleep. Within 24 hours, a second magnitude 7.7 quake hit the same region. By the time the rescues ended, more than 55,000 people were dead and over 100,000 were injured. Entire apartment blocks had collapsed in seconds.

Earthquakes kill an average of 60,000 people per year worldwide, making them one of the deadliest natural disasters. But here is a fact that most people do not realize: the majority of earthquake injuries and deaths are not caused by the ground shaking itself. They are caused by what falls on people — collapsing walls, toppling furniture, shattered glass, and falling debris. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, head injuries and suffocation under rubble account for the greatest number of earthquake fatalities.

This means that what you do in the first 10 to 30 seconds of shaking — and what you prepared in the weeks before — can be the difference between life and death. It also means that what you do in the hours and days after an earthquake matters enormously, both for your physical survival and your psychological recovery.

This guide covers the full timeline: how to prepare before an earthquake, what to do during the shaking, how to handle injuries afterward, and how to protect your mental health in the weeks that follow.

Before It Happens: Preparation That Saves Lives

Most earthquake injuries are preventable. A 2015 study published in Earthquake Spectra analyzing earthquake casualties across multiple countries found that non-structural hazards — unsecured furniture, heavy objects on shelves, glass panels — cause 30 to 50 percent of all injuries in moderate earthquakes. In severe quakes where buildings collapse, preparation determines whether you can survive until rescue arrives.

Secure Your Space

The single most effective household preparation is anchoring heavy furniture and appliances to walls. Tall bookshelves, dressers, water heaters, and refrigerators can topple during shaking and cause fatal crush injuries. FEMA recommends using L-brackets, furniture straps, and wall anchors for all heavy items over four feet tall.

Other critical steps:

  • Move heavy objects to lower shelves. Books, ceramics, and glass items stored high will become projectiles.
  • Install latches on cabinets. Kitchen cabinets swing open during shaking, sending dishes and glassware onto floors and people.
  • Know your shutoffs. Learn where your gas, water, and electricity shutoffs are located. Gas leaks after earthquakes cause fires that often do more damage than the quake itself.
  • Identify safe spots in each room. Under sturdy desks or tables, away from windows and heavy furniture. Doorways are not safer than other locations in modern buildings — this is a persistent myth.

Build an Emergency Kit

FEMA recommends keeping enough supplies for at least 72 hours — but after major earthquakes, disruptions to water, power, and supply chains often last one to two weeks. A practical kit includes:

  • Water: one gallon per person per day (minimum three days, ideally two weeks)
  • Non-perishable food and a manual can opener
  • Flashlight, batteries, hand-crank radio
  • First aid supplies (discussed in detail below)
  • Prescription medications: at least a 7-day supply
  • Copies of important documents (insurance, IDs, medical records)
  • Cash in small bills (ATMs and card readers will not work without power)
  • Sturdy shoes near your bed (shattered glass is one of the first hazards you encounter)

Your Medication List Is Critical

One of the most overlooked aspects of earthquake preparedness is medication documentation. After a disaster, you may be evacuated to a shelter, treated at a field hospital, or seen by doctors who have no access to your medical records. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically recommends maintaining a written or digital list of all current medications, dosages, prescribing doctors, and pharmacy contacts.

If you use WatchMyHealth's medication tracker, your complete medication list — with dosages, schedules, and pharmacy details — is already stored digitally and accessible from any device. This is exactly the kind of record that emergency medical teams need when they are treating you without access to your regular health system. Consider exporting a copy of your health data periodically and keeping it in your emergency kit.

During the Earthquake: Drop, Cover, and Hold On

The ShakeOut earthquake drill protocol — practiced annually by millions of people worldwide — is based on decades of injury research. The three-step response is endorsed by FEMA, the American Red Cross, the US Geological Survey, and emergency management agencies in Japan, New Zealand, and dozens of other countries.

Drop — Get down on your hands and knees. This position prevents you from being knocked down by the shaking, which can cause fall injuries, and keeps your center of gravity low.

Cover — Crawl under a sturdy desk or table if one is nearby. Protect your head and neck with your arms. If there is no table available, move to an interior wall away from windows and cover your head and neck.

Hold On — If you are under a table, hold on to its legs so it does not slide away from you. If you are not under shelter, keep covering your head and neck until the shaking stops.

What NOT to Do

Several widely repeated pieces of earthquake advice are wrong and can get you killed:

  • Do NOT run outside during shaking. The area immediately outside buildings is the most dangerous zone. Falling facades, glass, bricks, and building components kill people who try to exit during an earthquake. A USGS analysis found that most injuries in US earthquakes occur when people try to move during shaking rather than taking cover immediately.
  • Do NOT stand in a doorway. In modern buildings, doorways offer no additional structural protection. This advice dates from the 1800s when adobe buildings in the American Southwest sometimes had reinforced doorframes — it has not been relevant for over a century.
  • Do NOT use the "triangle of life" method. This widely shared internet theory suggests lying next to large objects (like a bed or desk) rather than under them, claiming that pancake collapse creates survivable voids beside furniture. Structural engineers and the Earthquake Country Alliance have repeatedly debunked this. In most earthquakes, buildings do not pancake-collapse — they partially collapse, sway, and shed debris. Being under a sturdy object protects you from falling debris, which is the primary cause of injury.
  • Do NOT try to use elevators. Even if they seem functional during early tremors, power can cut at any moment, trapping you.

Specific Situations

In bed: Stay in bed, pull the covers over your head, and protect your head with a pillow. Getting up to move across a room in the dark with shattered glass on the floor creates more risk than staying in bed.

In a car: Pull over to the side of the road, away from overpasses, bridges, power lines, and buildings. Set the parking brake and stay inside the vehicle. The car's suspension absorbs some of the shock, and its roof provides overhead protection.

Outdoors: Move to an open area away from buildings, power lines, trees, and streetlights. Drop to the ground and cover your head.

In a wheelchair or with mobility limitations: Lock your wheels, bend forward as far as possible, and cover your head and neck with your arms. If you have a heavy coat or blanket nearby, pull it over you for additional protection from falling debris.

Immediately After: The First 72 Hours

The shaking has stopped. The immediate danger may seem to have passed. In reality, the most critical period for survival is just beginning.

Check Yourself First

Before helping others, do a rapid self-assessment. Adrenaline can mask pain from serious injuries — people have walked on broken legs and ignored deep lacerations when in shock. Check for:

  • Bleeding — apply direct pressure to any wound that is actively bleeding
  • Difficulty breathing — dust and debris in the air can trigger asthma attacks and respiratory distress
  • Inability to move any limb — possible fracture or spinal injury
  • Head injury — dizziness, confusion, nausea, or loss of consciousness

Aftershocks Will Come

Aftershocks are not optional — they are a physical certainty after any significant earthquake. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake is typically followed by multiple magnitude 5+ aftershocks within the first 24 hours, and smaller aftershocks can continue for weeks or months. Some are strong enough to collapse buildings that were weakened but still standing after the initial quake.

Do not re-enter a damaged building to retrieve possessions. If you smell gas, leave the area immediately and call emergency services from a safe distance. Do not use matches, lighters, or electrical switches if you suspect a gas leak.

Triage and Basic First Aid

If you are in a group of injured people, use the START triage system used by first responders:

  1. Can the person walk? If yes, they are walking wounded — tag as delayed priority.
  2. Are they breathing? If not, clear the airway. If they still do not breathe, they are expectant — in a mass casualty event, resources go to those who can be saved.
  3. Respiratory rate over 30? Tag as immediate priority.
  4. Radial pulse absent (or capillary refill over 2 seconds)? Tag as immediate.
  5. Can they follow simple commands? If not, tag as immediate.

This is not coldness — it is the math of survival when emergency services are overwhelmed. After major earthquakes, hospitals are often damaged themselves, ambulances cannot get through blocked roads, and the patient-to-provider ratio can exceed 100:1.

Crush Injuries and Crush Syndrome: The Hidden Killer

Crush injuries are the signature medical emergency of earthquakes. When a person is trapped under heavy rubble — collapsed concrete, steel beams, heavy furniture — the sustained compression of muscle tissue triggers a cascade of metabolic damage that can be fatal even after the person is rescued.

How Crush Syndrome Works

When muscle tissue is compressed for more than one hour, the cells begin to die. This process, called rhabdomyolysis, releases potassium, myoglobin, phosphate, and other intracellular contents into the local tissue. While the person remains trapped, this toxic load stays contained in the compressed limb because blood flow is restricted.

The danger comes at the moment of rescue. When the crushing weight is removed and blood flow returns to the damaged limb, these toxins flood into the general circulation all at once. This is crush syndrome — and it can cause:

  • Hyperkalemia — dangerously elevated potassium levels that can stop the heart within minutes
  • Acute kidney failure — myoglobin clogs the kidney's filtration tubules, shutting down kidney function
  • Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) — widespread abnormal blood clotting
  • Cardiac arrest — from the combined metabolic shock

A review in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery found that crush syndrome is the second most common cause of death in earthquake victims who are alive when rescued. After the 1988 Armenian earthquake, 40 percent of people rescued from rubble developed crush syndrome, and nearly half of those died.

Field Treatment Principles

If you encounter a person trapped under rubble:

  • Do NOT pull them out immediately if they have been trapped for more than one hour. Rapid decompression without fluid resuscitation is the most common cause of death from crush syndrome.
  • Start IV fluids before extraction if possible. The World Health Organization field manual recommends 1 to 1.5 liters of normal saline per hour, beginning before the weight is removed. In a disaster setting where IV supplies may not be available, oral hydration with clean water is better than nothing.
  • Apply a tourniquet only as a last resort — and only if the limb is clearly unsalvageable. Tourniquets do prevent the release of toxins into circulation, but they also guarantee loss of the limb.
  • Monitor for signs of hyperkalemia after extraction: muscle weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, nausea, and tingling. These require emergency medical treatment.

Crush syndrome can develop from as little as one hour of compression of a single limb. Six or more hours of compression affecting a large muscle mass (thighs, torso) is almost always fatal without aggressive medical intervention.

Common Earthquake Injuries: First Aid Basics

Beyond crush injuries, earthquakes produce a predictable pattern of trauma. Knowing basic first aid for these injuries can save lives in the hours before professional help arrives.

Lacerations and Puncture Wounds

Broken glass and sharp debris cause the majority of minor-to-moderate earthquake injuries. In dust-filled environments, wound contamination is almost guaranteed.

  • Apply direct pressure with the cleanest available cloth. Do not remove the pressure to check — let it stay for at least 15 minutes.
  • If an object is embedded in the wound, do NOT remove it. Stabilize it in place and seek medical attention. The object may be tamponading a damaged vessel.
  • After bleeding stops, clean the wound with clean water if available. Do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide — both damage tissue and slow healing.
  • Tetanus is a real risk from earthquake wounds. If you have not had a tetanus booster within 5 years, seek vaccination as soon as medical services resume.

Fractures

  • Do not attempt to realign a broken bone. Splint the limb in the position you find it.
  • Improvised splints can be made from boards, rolled newspapers or magazines, sturdy sticks, or even pillows secured with strips of cloth.
  • Splint above and below the suspected fracture site.
  • Check circulation beyond the splint every 15 minutes: feel for pulse, check skin color, and ask about tingling or numbness. Loosen the splint if circulation is compromised.

Dust Inhalation

Collapsed concrete and drywall produce clouds of fine particulate matter that can cause acute respiratory distress, especially in people with asthma or COPD.

  • Cover nose and mouth with a damp cloth.
  • Move to an area with cleaner air if possible.
  • If someone is having an asthma attack and has a rescue inhaler, help them use it. Two puffs, wait one minute, then two more puffs if no improvement.
  • Silicosis risk is elevated for rescue workers exposed to concrete dust over multiple days. Masks rated N95 or higher provide protection.

Trapped Under Rubble: Survival Strategies

According to search-and-rescue data compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the vast majority of earthquake survivors are rescued within the first 24 hours. After 72 hours, the survival rate drops precipitously. But people have been pulled alive from rubble after more than a week — including 11 days after the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake.

If you are trapped:

  • Do not light a match or lighter. Gas leaks are common after earthquakes. A spark can cause an explosion.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with clothing to filter dust.
  • Do not shout continuously. Shouting exhausts you and fills your lungs with dust. Instead, tap on pipes or walls in patterns of three — the international signal for distress. Use a whistle if one is available (this is why emergency kits should include a whistle).
  • Conserve energy and body heat. Hypothermia is a major risk for trapped persons, especially at night.
  • If you have water, drink it. Dehydration kills faster than starvation. Rationing water is less effective than maintaining hydration — your body needs water now, not later.
  • Try to move your limbs periodically to maintain circulation and prevent blood clots, but do not attempt to move rubble above you without certainty that it will not cause further collapse.

Psychological First Aid: The Invisible Injuries

Physical injuries from earthquakes are visible and get immediate attention. Psychological injuries are often invisible, take longer to develop, and can be profoundly debilitating.

Acute Stress Reactions

In the hours and days after an earthquake, the following responses are normal and expected:

  • Hypervigilance — startling at every sound, feeling unable to relax
  • Sleep disturbance — nightmares, inability to sleep, fear of sleeping (especially if the earthquake struck at night)
  • Emotional numbness or dissociation — feeling detached from reality
  • Intrusive images — replaying the event involuntarily
  • Physical symptoms — rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea, trembling

These are normal stress responses, not signs of mental illness. For most people, these symptoms peak within the first week and gradually diminish over one to three months.

When Normal Stress Becomes PTSD

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Affective Disorders analyzed data from 88 studies across multiple earthquake disasters and found that the pooled prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among earthquake survivors was 23.7 percent. In studies focusing on people who were physically injured or trapped, rates exceeded 40 percent.

Risk factors for developing PTSD after an earthquake include:

  • Being physically trapped or injured
  • Witnessing death or severe injury
  • Losing a family member
  • Loss of home or livelihood
  • Female sex (women develop PTSD at roughly twice the rate of men after natural disasters)
  • Prior mental health conditions
  • Lack of social support after the event

PTSD is diagnosed when acute stress symptoms persist beyond one month and interfere with daily functioning. The World Health Organization recommends evidence-based treatments including trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), both of which have strong evidence for effectiveness in disaster-related PTSD.

Psychological First Aid in Practice

Psychological first aid (PFA) is the recommended immediate response framework for disaster mental health. Unlike formal therapy, PFA can be administered by anyone and focuses on five core actions, as outlined in the WHO PFA guide:

  1. Safety — Help the person feel physically safe. Move them away from hazards and into a stable environment.
  2. Calm — Speak in a steady, calm voice. Offer practical information about what is happening.
  3. Connectedness — Help people reconnect with family members and support systems. Social isolation after a disaster is one of the strongest predictors of long-term psychological harm.
  4. Self-efficacy — Help people take small, concrete actions (finding water, checking on a neighbor). Restoring a sense of agency counteracts helplessness.
  5. Hope — Without minimizing what has happened, communicate that recovery is possible and that help is coming.

What NOT to do: do not force people to "talk about what happened" immediately after the event. Debriefing — once widely practiced — has been shown to be ineffective or even harmful when imposed on people in acute distress. Let people share at their own pace.

Children and Earthquakes: Special Considerations

Children are disproportionately affected by earthquake trauma. Their smaller bodies are more vulnerable to crush injuries, they cannot self-rescue, and they lack the cognitive frameworks adults use to process traumatic events.

Physical Vulnerability

Children's thinner skulls and developing brains make head injuries more dangerous. Their smaller airways are more easily obstructed by dust and debris. And infants and toddlers cannot perform Drop-Cover-Hold — they depend entirely on caregivers to protect them.

If you are holding a baby during an earthquake, bend over the child to shield them with your body while taking cover. Place babies in a car seat or crib if one is nearby — rigid-sided containers provide some overhead protection.

Psychological Impact

Children process disasters differently than adults. Common reactions include:

  • Regression — bedwetting, thumb-sucking, or clinginess in children who had outgrown these behaviors
  • Separation anxiety — extreme fear when away from parents
  • Repetitive play — reenacting the earthquake through play (this is actually a healthy coping mechanism)
  • Sleep disruption — nightmares, refusal to sleep in their own bed, fear of the dark

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents maintain routines as much as possible after a disaster, answer children's questions honestly in age-appropriate language, and limit children's exposure to media coverage of the disaster. Repeatedly watching footage of destruction has been shown to increase anxiety symptoms in children even when they were not directly affected by the event.

Medication Preparedness: A Detailed Checklist

For people who take daily medications — blood pressure drugs, insulin, anticoagulants, psychiatric medications, immunosuppressants — an earthquake can create a life-threatening gap in treatment. Pharmacies may be destroyed, supply chains disrupted, and medical records inaccessible.

A study of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake found that disruption of chronic disease medications was associated with significant worsening of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions in the weeks following the disaster. Patients on warfarin who missed doses experienced dangerous fluctuations in blood clotting. Diabetic patients without insulin access developed diabetic ketoacidosis.

Your Medication Emergency Plan

  1. Maintain a 7-day emergency supply of all prescription medications, stored in your emergency kit. Rotate this supply every three months to ensure medications remain within their expiration dates.

  2. Keep a written medication list that includes: drug name (generic and brand), dosage, frequency, prescribing doctor's name and phone number, and pharmacy contact information. The CDC specifically recommends this for disaster preparedness.

  3. Store medications properly. Many medications are temperature-sensitive. Insulin, for example, loses effectiveness when exposed to heat above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) — and post-earthquake conditions often involve no air conditioning and potential exposure to elements.

  4. Know your critical vs. non-critical medications. Missing a multivitamin for a week is inconsequential. Missing insulin, anticoagulants, antiseizure medications, or immunosuppressants can be immediately dangerous. Prioritize accordingly.

  5. Carry medical identification. A medical alert bracelet or card listing critical conditions (diabetes, epilepsy, severe allergies) and medications helps emergency responders make fast, informed decisions.

WatchMyHealth's medication tracker keeps a complete, exportable record of your medication regimen. If your regular pharmacy is inaccessible after a disaster, having a detailed medication list allows any available healthcare provider to continue your critical medications with confidence.

Building a Comprehensive First Aid Kit for Earthquakes

A standard household first aid kit is designed for cuts and scrapes. An earthquake first aid kit needs to handle trauma. Based on guidelines from the American Red Cross and trauma surgery literature, here is what to include:

Bleeding control:

  • Multiple rolls of gauze bandage (4-inch width)
  • Hemostatic gauze (QuikClot or equivalent) if available
  • A commercial tourniquet (CAT or SOFTT-W) — and training on how to use it
  • Adhesive tape (cloth tape sticks better than paper tape in dusty conditions)
  • Large absorbent dressings (trauma pads)

Airway and breathing:

  • N95 masks (minimum 4 per person) — for dust, not infections
  • A pocket mask or face shield for rescue breathing
  • An emergency whistle

Immobilization:

  • SAM splints (moldable aluminum splints) or improvised splinting materials
  • Triangular bandages for slings
  • An emergency blanket (hypothermia prevention)

Wound care:

  • Antiseptic wipes (chlorhexidine-based preferred over alcohol)
  • Sterile saline for wound irrigation
  • Antibiotic ointment (triple antibiotic)
  • Assorted adhesive bandages
  • Tweezers and small scissors

Medications:

  • Over-the-counter pain relief (ibuprofen and acetaminophen)
  • Oral rehydration salts
  • Antihistamines (for allergic reactions to stings or dust)
  • Any personal prescription medications

Tools:

  • Latex-free gloves (several pairs)
  • A headlamp (both hands free is essential for first aid in the dark)
  • A multi-tool with pliers (useful for turning off gas valves and removing small debris)
  • Permanent marker (for writing triage information on patients' skin — time of tourniquet application, medications given)

Recovery: The Weeks and Months After

The immediate emergency phase of an earthquake typically lasts 72 hours. But the recovery phase — physical, emotional, and financial — can last months or years.

Physical Health Monitoring

Injuries sustained during an earthquake may not become apparent for days. Internal bleeding, slow-developing crush syndrome in mildly compressed limbs, stress cardiomyopathy (also known as "broken heart syndrome," which is documented after natural disasters), and infection from untreated wounds can all present with delayed onset.

Waterborne illness is another major post-earthquake risk. Damaged water infrastructure and sewage systems create conditions for outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, and gastroenteritis. Boil all drinking water until authorities confirm the water supply is safe.

If you experienced the earthquake, logging your symptoms in the days and weeks afterward provides a valuable record. WatchMyHealth's symptom and pain tracking features can help you document any new symptoms — headaches, chest pain, respiratory problems, gastrointestinal issues — so that if you need medical attention later, you have a clear timeline to share with your healthcare provider.

Emotional Recovery

The psychological impact of earthquakes follows a well-documented trajectory. The initial phase of crisis response often gives way to a "honeymoon" period of community solidarity and optimism. This is typically followed by a disillusionment phase — weeks to months later — when the reality of loss sets in and the initial surge of support fades.

Signs that you or someone you know may benefit from professional mental health support:

  • Intrusive memories or flashbacks that are not decreasing after one month
  • Avoidance of places, activities, or conversations related to the earthquake
  • Persistent inability to sleep
  • Irritability or anger that is affecting relationships
  • Using alcohol or drugs to cope
  • Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected for weeks

Seeking help is not weakness — it is recognition that your nervous system experienced something it was not designed to handle, and that evidence-based treatments can help it recover.

Earthquake Safety for People with Disabilities and Chronic Conditions

Standard earthquake advice assumes a healthy, mobile adult. For the millions of people with physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, or age-related limitations, preparedness requires additional planning.

Mobility impairments: If you use a wheelchair, keep a patch kit and extra gloves (for manual chairs) in your emergency supply. Designate a safe spot that you can reach independently — under a reinforced table at wheelchair height, or an interior wall you can lean against while protecting your head.

Vision impairments: Keep a pair of sturdy shoes, a flashlight, and a whistle secured to your bed frame. In an earthquake, familiar environments become obstacle courses of displaced furniture and broken glass. A service animal should have its own emergency supplies.

Hearing impairments: Visual and vibrotactile earthquake alerts are available through smartphone apps. After an earthquake, write notes or use text messaging to communicate with rescuers who may not know sign language.

Dialysis patients: Missed dialysis sessions are immediately dangerous. Know the locations of at least three dialysis centers in your broader region in case your primary center is damaged. The National Kidney Foundation recommends that dialysis patients keep a three-day emergency diet plan (low-potassium, low-sodium, fluid-restricted) and know the emergency protocols at their dialysis center.

Oxygen-dependent patients: Battery-powered portable oxygen concentrators are the safest option for earthquakes, as oxygen tanks can become dangerous projectiles if toppled. Keep extra batteries charged.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an earthquake typically last?

Most earthquakes last 10 to 30 seconds. Major earthquakes (magnitude 7+) can produce shaking that lasts one to three minutes. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan produced shaking that lasted approximately six minutes.

Can earthquakes be predicted?

No. Despite decades of research, no reliable method exists to predict the specific time, location, and magnitude of an earthquake. Early warning systems can detect an earthquake that has already begun and provide seconds to tens of seconds of warning before strong shaking arrives at your location — enough time to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

Is any floor of a building safer than others?

In general, lower floors have less motion and are closer to exits, but upper floors are less likely to be crushed in a partial collapse. There is no universally "safer" floor. The most important factor is what you are near — being next to an unsecured bookshelf on the second floor is more dangerous than being under a sturdy table on the fifth floor.

Should I stockpile water in my bathtub?

If you have warning (aftershock expected, or you feel a foreshock), filling a bathtub with water is a reasonable backup plan. However, this should not replace stored water in sealed containers, as bathtub water may not be safe to drink without purification.

What should I do about gas leaks?

If you smell gas (a sulfur or rotten-egg odor), leave the building immediately. Do not use light switches, matches, phones, or anything that could create a spark. Shut off the main gas valve only if you can do so safely. Once shut off, do not turn gas back on yourself — wait for a professional to inspect the lines.

What Earthquake Preparedness Really Means

Earthquakes are not rare events that happen to other people. According to the USGS, approximately 500,000 detectable earthquakes occur worldwide each year, with about 100 of them large enough to cause damage. Seismic zones span every continent. If you live in California, Japan, Turkey, Italy, Mexico, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, New Zealand, or Iran — to name just a few — a damaging earthquake in your lifetime is not a possibility but a probability.

Preparedness is not paranoia. It is the recognition that a few hours of planning and a few hundred dollars of supplies can fundamentally change the outcome for you and your family. Secure your furniture. Build your kit. Know your medications. Practice Drop-Cover-Hold with your children. Understand the basics of bleeding control and crush injury management.

And when the ground stops shaking, take care of your mental health with the same seriousness you would treat a broken bone. The psychological wound is just as real — and just as treatable.

If today's article prompts you to check your earthquake readiness, start with the simplest step: make sure you have a complete, current list of your medications and medical conditions that you can access even if your phone is dead, your home is inaccessible, and your doctor's office is closed. That single document could be the most important item in your emergency kit.