Much Work Remains to Prepare for Next Quake : Poll Shows That Many Valley Residents Weren’t Ready

You may be getting tired of reading about the Northridge (or is that Reseda?) earthquake but indulge us one more time. The matter we would like to suggest involves preparedness. Our piece is based on the findings of a Times poll conducted after the temblor and more recent interviews. The issue is preparedness. If the following is any indication, we all have a long way to go. After all, in the initial moments of the quake, we practically lost our police chief--Willie Williams--to a falling armoire.

Perhaps one emergency services coordinator put it best: “I really feel that the general public thinks the government is going to be there the minute the ground stops shaking. And that’s not true. . . . People must understand that they need to be prepared, to have their neighborhoods prepared, to talk about what’s going to happen and where they’re going to go.”

Less than half of the residents in the Valley and its adjacent communities said that they were prepared for an earthquake, according to the recent Times poll.

Half of those who responded to the same poll said that they had not taken any of the most common recommended steps for protecting themselves from earthquake damage before the Northridge temblor hit. Surprisingly few have done much since then. It’s true that 60% of the residents in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys have now taken at least one additional precaution, and that nearly 70% have obtained at least one additional emergency item, but that is hardly enough.

Toward that end, we have compiled a list of questions, based on information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project.

* Have you taken steps to anchor bookcases, armoires or wall units to the walls?

* Have you placed guardrails on the bookcases and open shelves to prevent items from falling out of them?

* Have you installed cupboard latches to keep them closed when the shaking starts?

* Have you taken any steps to stock up on non-perishable food items such as canned goods, and do you have a non-electric can opener in the house in case power is lost during the quake?

* Do you have a good supply of bottled water?

* Do you have flashlights and batteries for a portable radio, and are they in an accessible location? Battery-operated flashlights are also good. Flashlights that have to be recharged at an electrical outlet can’t be recharged until the power comes on again.

* Have you written up a family earthquake plan?

* Do you know if your neighborhood, street or complex has an earthquake plan?

* Is your home bolted to its foundation?

* Do you have earthquake insurance?

As a seismologist at Caltech said recently, we are living in a seismically active area. Pains must be taken to overcome denial and become as prepared as possible.

Perhaps you were among those of us who were stumbling around in the dark, trying to remember where the flashlight was, or whether we had one, or if the batteries were fresh if we happened to find it. Perhaps you were one of those folks who suddenly remembered that they hadn’t learned how to open the garage door when the electrical opener attached to it isn’t working. Perhaps you recall the helpless feeling of trying to find a grocery store that was open on the day of the quake, one that hadn’t been stripped of its emergency items by the time you arrived?

We’re betting you don’t want to have those feelings again, if you can avoid it. Perhaps you can, and now is the time to do it.