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Short Summary
Main recommendation: For an earthquake, use "Drop, Cover, Hold": drop to the ground, take cover under something sturdy, and hold on until the shaking stops; if you can't get under something, move against a sturdy wall away from falling debris. Karen Blackburn of the Intermountain Center for Disaster Preparedness (ICDP) also says individuals should look to organizations such as the American Red Cross and county emergency management agencies for preparedness information. The interview frames preparedness as collaborative, with healthcare integrated into disaster planning.
Key Points
- ICDP focuses on collaboration and integration, bringing together everyone who could be affected by or respond to a disaster, and training and exercising together from the start.
- Blackburn describes ICDP's work in four lines of business: training and education (including curriculum written in-house or sourced from FEMA), facilitating disaster exercises, conducting research that feeds back into exercises and curriculum, and assessments that find gaps in an organization's plans and resources.
- ICDP works with individuals as well as organizations, with a focus on bringing organizations into collaboration with healthcare, since every disaster has a healthcare component.
- Blackburn notes that learning about disasters can reduce children's fear, citing her six-year-old who was frightened after an earthquake drill at kindergarten.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- During shaking, drop to the ground, cover under something heavy, and hold on to it until the shaking stops.
- If you cannot get under something, get up against something very sturdy to protect yourself from falling debris.
- For individual preparation, find resources from the American Red Cross and your county emergency management agency.
- Blackburn's closing advice for organizations and residents: "Make a kit and stand by."
- Blackburn says she grew up in Virginia, where there are no earthquakes, and that she had not personally experienced one.
- Blackburn asserts that all disasters have a healthcare component, whether affecting responders or victims.
- ICDP's website is intermountaincdp.org; Blackburn also mentioned email as a contact method but did not state the address.
Bottom Line
Earthquake safety comes down to the Drop, Cover, Hold action during shaking, supported by local preparedness resources and organizational planning that includes healthcare.