ALISO VIEJO : Family Is Prepared for Worst

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake did it for Debbie Richards.

Since that 1989 temblor, she’s been ready for the next one. Now, no earthquake, typhoon or any other disaster that could hit Aliso Viejo is going to catch her off guard.

Stacked floor to ceiling in her garage is a 10-month supply of canned foods--from spaghetti to popcorn to instant milk--she personally packaged for her family of five. Bottled water and first-aid kits complete the picture.

For less lengthy emergencies, Richards has devised portable 72-hour food survival kits that fit snugly in half-gallon milk cartons. Enough trail mix, dehydrated soup, fruit rolls and granola bars to last three days are dated and have a two-year shelf life.

Her neighbors used to snicker at her feverish canning every day in her garage.

“They used to laugh at me,” Richards said. “But now they all want to learn this canning business themselves.”

It was the San Francisco earthquake and the Mormon church that launched Richards into the readiness furor. The church teaches its congregation to be prepared, and the earthquake made it hit home.

Richards, 31, didn’t experience the San Francisco earthquake. She was in Washington. But her husband, Chris, was in San Francisco and was cut off from her for nearly 14 hours after the quake hit.

“I called his office in Los Angeles, and they said he may have been on the road that collapsed. But there was nothing I could do but wait,” she said.

As it turned out, her husband was fine and couldn’t telephone to tell her. But Richards’ mind-set was established.

“That’s what did it for me,” she said. “I’ve been canning ever since.”

Richards got together with a dietitian and came up with an assortment of foods adults--and children--could use to survive. The problem is figuring out foods everyone can agree on, she said.

Richards has the right idea, said Douglas Dumhart, the disaster preparedness coordinator for the city of San Juan Capistrano.

“She might become the most popular woman in the neighborhood if the Big One hits,” Dumhart said. “Unfortunately, most people are not prepared like they should be.”

Richards’ 72-hour milk carton kits are just what experts recommend, Dumhart said. People should be prepared to be self-sufficient for three days if water and sewer lines and roads are destroyed, he said.

Dumhart suggests that along with first-aid kits, two gallons of water per person per day and food, people not forget flashlights, batteries and, most important, medicine. Three days’ worth of personal prescriptions are vital, he said.

“If you are a diabetic and down to one day’s worth of insulin when the Big One hits, you could be out of luck,” he said.

One more thing everyone can use is cash, he added. That could be the only means for purchasing supplies.

The Richardses are already dipping into their canned food supply, but replacing it afterward, a strategy she says keeps the food rotated properly.

Besides, she said, they love the canned stuff.

“We only canned the foods that we like,” Richards said.