Countywide : Quake Preparedness Events Quite Timely

When Goldie Tarzi arranged to have a Red Cross representative talk Thursday to new Vietnamese immigrants about earthquake preparedness, she had no idea that she would have a room full of such attentive--and recently shaken--students.

“How in the world could we have done it any better?” asked Tarzi, the social adjustment coordinator at St. Anselm’s Immigrant and Refugee Center in Garden Grove. “We learned this month is earthquake preparedness month. I thought (a class) was very relevant. I set it up, and all of a sudden it happened.”

The Orange County Fire Department also had planned earthquake drills this week for their stations to introduce firefighters to some new procedures. But the real temblor beat the drills to it, Battalion Chief Donald M. Forsyth said.

Officials went ahead with the drills Thursday for the western and central stations in the county, tailoring them to the quake that had just happened.

Fire officials speculated that earthquake preparations may be paying off in Orange County because fire departments received few calls and no reports of damage following Wednesday’s temblor.

“We even checked our communication systems because we were surprised how few calls were coming in,” said Kathleen Cha, spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Department. “And maybe people are better prepared. Usually, the lines are immediately full. This time, there were just some sporadic calls that came in. And maybe that’s a tribute to the community. They didn’t panic needlessly.”

But at the Garden Grove refugee center, speaker Sam Toney warned that residents should not be “lulled into a sense of complacency.”

“What tends to happen is after a quake like (on Wednesday) night, people think these aren’t so bad. But they can go from that generally rocking motion to knocking you off your feet,” he said.

People should get under a table, or if one is not available, they should squat, cover the back of their heads and look down, Toney said, because shattered glass could fly around.

Running outside is the most common cause of injury, he said, urging people to stay inside during and after a quake so that they will not interfere with emergency operations.

At a MainPlace/Santa Ana movie theater Wednesday, a crowd panicked and ran outside when the building began swaying like an ocean, Red Cross officials said.

“People were up and running,” Red Cross spokeswoman Sue Samuelson said. “That’s the worse thing to do. In between the seats you are pretty well protected. (Otherwise) you have more of a chance of getting crushed by a crowd.”

Toney urged families to prepare kits including medical supplies and water that can be grabbed in the event they have to leave home. He also suggested that a 25-gallon garbage can be packed with food, water, first-aid items and blankets.

Children should also be prepared with “earthquake games” so that they know what to expect and can practice escape routes, he said.

People on the freeway during an earthquake should stop if possible, Toney said, but not under a bridge.

People should stay in their cars, he said, because they “can bounce around.”

If people have to leave their car, Toney suggested leaving a note that includes their names and destination, what happened and where they can be reached.