Earthquake Safety Can Be Part of the Package : My True Love Gave to Me: 3 Working Batteries, 2 Freeze-Dried Cheesecakes and a Portable : AM-FM Radio

When’s the last time you told someone you loved them with water purification tablets?

Or bought a wrench as the perfect stocking stuffer for your grandmother? Or added duct tape to your Christmas shopping list?

Not your idea of getting prepared for the holidays? Well, maybe it should be. As memories of the Northridge earthquake fade from our collective consciousness, sales of emergency preparedness items have diminished as well.

But the need is still there, the experts say. And the holidays provide a perfect opportunity to help loved ones in Southern California get prepared for the Big One or any other disaster that could cause great discomfort to someone caught without a plastic tarp to shield them from wet weather, or working batteries for a flashlight or portable radio.

Interest in earthquake survival “has tended to slack off considerably in the last 20 months,” said Mike Goth, an official with the Ventura County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Goth said he would be delighted if shoppers used some of their Christmas cash to help others get ready for the next inevitable emergency.

“We tell people, ‘You’d better get prepared, because it’s going to happen again,’ ” he said.

Ventura County retailers, as well as the Red Cross itself, sell a variety of items that could be useful during an emergency. Some are specifically marketed for earthquakes--such as straps to tie down refrigerators, computers and televisions--and other items are standard hardware merchandise, such as dust masks and crow bars.

“It’s not something people think of for Christmas, but if you live here in Southern California, it’s something that you ought to have,” said one Oxnard retailer.

From stocking stuffers to major purchases, here’s a sampling of the emergency supplies that can be found in Ventura County stores this holiday season:

* Lights and communication. Flashlights, in abundance in many stores, range from an inexpensive $2 version that would be perfect for a child, to more expensive--and powerful--lights and beacons. Safety lights, which plug into an electrical socket and automatically turn on when there is a power failure, can be found at hardware stores and discount centers such as Wal-Mart, with prices ranging from $14.50 to $27.

Another source of light for an emergency is a light stick, which emits light for up to 12 hours after it is activated. Sporting goods, hardware and discount stores carry these, with the price averaging $1.99. “All you need is a flashlight that works and batteries for it,” Goth said. “Because these are emergency items, inexpensive is fine.”

A portable AM-FM radio is a must as well and is available in various stores at a range of prices. “Unless you’re way up the heck in the boondocks . . . pretty much any type of AM-FM radio will work. The kind you get is a personal preference,” Goth said.

Batteries for these items can be purchased individually or in large packs for less than $10.

* Food and water. The Red Cross recommends that people pack canned and packaged food they normally eat, taking it out of their pantries and rotating it every six months. For those who don’t want to do that, sporting goods stores carry a variety of freeze-dried foods that can be prepared with water, such as omelets, pasta dishes and even cheesecake for dessert. Sport Chalet in Oxnard carries a three-day basic survival kit for $24.98 that contains food and water.

Also available at Sport Chalet is a “brick” of food that is designed to feed a person for three days. A store employee, who asked not to be identified, said the meal tastes like a lemon cookie and is quite filling despite its relatively small size.

“It’s a survival food,” he said. “It’s not stuff that you’re going to cut up and eat with green beans, but it’s a survival food.”

For those who cannot stomach the idea of cold food from a can, camping stoves could be the answer. Propane or gas stoves are available at sporting goods stores, with prices starting at around $20.

To quench thirst, some stores carry small packets of water for as little as 25 cents. Other retailers sell water by the case.

Emergency preparedness specialists recommend that families store water in a 55-gallon drum that can be kept outside. The experts suggest that a household have one or two gallons of water per day for each each family member, for a minimum of three days. It’s hard to find a store that carries the empty drums on a regular basis, but Bud & Ken Lumber Co. in Oxnard sells used ones that had fruit concentrate in them for $14.99.

The Red Cross, with offices in Ventura and Simi Valley, sells water purification tablets for $4, which should be used whenever water appears cloudy or there is some doubt about the water’s drinkability.

* Medical supplies. Various stores sell first-aid kits, with sizes ranging from something that would fit in a pocket or car glove compartment to a large kit. The Red Cross sells a small kit for $9 and a family kit for $35. Sporting goods stores and discount stores also carry them, with prices ranging from $10 to $139.

The minimum for a first aid kit is a few triangular bandages, sterile dressing, rolls of gauze, and some material to be used as bandages, such as a bed sheet.

To go along with the medical supplies, first aid books also are sold. The Red Cross offers the book “First Aid Fast” for $3.50 and a free checklist of recommended medical and safety supplies.

* Work equipment. Work gloves, goggles to protect the eyes and dust masks to help safeguard against airborne bacteria can be found in most hardware and discount stores.

Other items recommended for use in the aftermath of an earthquake include plastic sheeting to cover broken windows (from $5.50 to $16 per roll), a staple gun to attach the sheeting (from just under $12 to $44), a claw-tool crowbar to open a stuck door ($6.50), and a fire extinguisher ($10 to $30).

A wrench to turn off the gas is a must. The Red Cross sells gas valve wrenches for $5. Hardware and discount stores sell various wrenches that could be used to turn a gas valve.

* Comfort. Sleeping bags, tents and other standard camping equipment could make the difference between whether a person is miserable following an earthquake or just greatly inconvenienced. Tarps to protect against wet ground can be purchased from $9 to $20, depending on the size.

The Red Cross sells two- and four-person survival kits for $85 and $135, respectively, containing flashlights and batteries, a radio, emergency blankets, gloves, toilet paper and bags for human waste, and ponchos.

A fanny-pack survival kit, good for hiking or storing in a desk drawer at work, is sold by the Red Cross for $45. It contains a flashlight, batteries, gloves, a first aid kit, poncho, a whistle to summon help and sunscreen.

The Red Cross also sells a commuter survival kit for $45, which includes a blanket, work gloves, flashlight and batteries, first aid kit, and a two- to three-day supply of water with a long shelf life.

Another item that could somewhat abate the inconvenience of living outdoors is a portable toilet, available at discount and sporting goods stores beginning at about $60.

And for those who want to spend the money, gasoline generators to keep a refrigerator or television working start at about $299. Heavy-duty extension cords can be purchased for under $15, in case a neighbor has power when you don’t.

* Preparing the home. Some companies now make straps and other items to secure valuables during an earthquake. The Red Cross sells a water heater strap kit for $5, while area hardware stores carry a line of kits to secure computers, refrigerators, televisions and bookcases. These items range from just under $10 to $29.

A popular item is a putty-like substance selling for about $4 called Quake Hold, which is used to secure everything from dishes in the china cabinet to knickknacks to the clock sitting on the fireplace mantle.

“Quake Hold is our most popular item,” said Rochelle Baker, manager of B & B Hardware in Camarillo. “It’s amazing how many people want to fasten down the things they own.”

Industrial-strength Velcro also is available at hardware stores to keep pictures and wall mirrors from swinging side to side during an earthquake.

Wendy Milligan, assistant director of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services, said that in an emergency prepared families put less strain on government response teams, which are overwhelmed with work to do.

Families with the proper supplies also can reach out to their neighbors, Milligan said, “because not everybody will be prepared.”

For an incentive to prepare, one need look no further back than the Northridge earthquake, the experts say.

That pre-dawn earthquake in January 1994, with a magnitude 6.7, was “just a friendly reminder that we live in earthquake country, and the damage that caused is nowhere near what an 8.3 [magnitude quake] would do,” Milligan said.