November 2008 Archives

It wasn't the real thing, but the students at Park View Middle School reacted like it was on Thursday during the largest earthquake drill in history - the Great Southern California Shakeout.

Below is a question and answer section from www.shakeout.org on earthquake preparedness:

Q: I've heard about alternate ways of staying safe during an earthquake, like the "Triangle of Life" concept. What should I do?
A:The safest thing to do during an earthquake is "Drop, Cover, and Hold On," as described at http://www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon. This special report describes how the "Triangle of Life" is promoted with greatly exaggerated or wrong information, and is not a viable method for keeping safe in an earthquake.

Q: Is an earthquake going to hit southern California in November?
A: It's not impossible, because California is a very seismically active region. However, the November 13 date refers to an earthquake drill, rather than a predicted earthquake. At this time, there is no way to predict earthquakes with this type of precision. However, it is important that southern Californians get prepared for an earthquake larger than anything we've ever experienced. A new study has forecast a 99.7% chance of an earthquake the size of the Northridge Earthquake or larger in the next 30 years.

Q: How can I teach my kids to prepare?
A: Visit the ShakeOut guide for families. Teach your kids to Drop, Cover, and Hold On. You can also play the 'Earthquake Game' where when anyone says "earthquake!" everyone has to pretend an earthquake is happening and practice their response. Teach you children that they should go under a table and hold on if one is near. If they are in a room without a table, crouch against an interior wall, away from windows. Find an "earthquake-safe" location in every room of the house so they don't try to run during an earthquake.

Make sure you have the following in case a natural disaster kits:

Personal Disaster Supplies Kits
Medications, prescriptions list, copy of medical card,
doctor's name and contact information
Medical consent forms for dependents
First aid kit and handbook
Examination gloves (non-latex)
Dust mask
Spare eyeglasses or contact lenses and cleaning solution
Bottled water
Whistle (to alert rescuers to your location)
Sturdy shoes
Emergency cash (small bills and coins)
Road maps
List of emergency out-of-state contact phone numbers
Non-perishable food and snack foods, high in water and calories
Manual can opener
Working flashlight with extra batteries and light bulbs,
or lightsticks
Personal hygiene supplies
Premoistened towelettes
Comfort items such as games, crayons, writing materials, teddy bears
Toiletries and special provisions you need for
yourself and others in your family including elderly,
disabled, small children, and animals.
Sealable plastic bags
Extra clothes
Copies of personal identification (driver's license,
work identification card, etc.)

Household Disaster Supplies Kit
Flashlight with extra batteries
Wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies
Sturdy work gloves and protective goggles
Heavy duty plastic bags for waste, and to serve as tarps, rain ponchos, and other uses
Portable radio with extra batteries
Additional flashlights or lightsticks
Drinking water (minimum one gallon per person, per day)
Canned and packaged foods
Manual can opener
First aid kit and handbook
Charcoal or gas grill for outdoor cooking and matches if needed
Cooking utensils, including a manual can opener
Pet food and pet restraints
Comfortable, warm clothing including extra socks
Blankets or sleeping bags, and perhaps even a tent
Copies of vital documents such as insurance policies
Fire extinguisher
Sealable plastic bags
Essential medications

Pet Disaster Supplies Kit
Medications and medical records (stored in a
waterproof container)
First aid kit
Sturdy leashes, harnesses, and/or carriers to transport pets safely and ensure that your animals can't escape
Current photos of your pets in case they get lost
Food, potable water, bowls, cat litter/pan, and
manual can opener
Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian in case you have to foster or board your pets
Pet beds and toys, if easily transportable
-- Emergency Survival Program

The city follows the county's Emergency Operation Plan, which includes strategies and guidelines when responding to a large disaster.

In the event of a big disaster, the city sets up American Red Cross shelters at Colton community centers such as the Gonzales Center, 670 Colton Ave.; Hutton Center, 660 Colton Ave.; and Luque Center, 202 E. O St.

Residents can call the Colton Fire Department or Emergency Services Coordinator Debra Kreske at (909) 370-5100.

Fire Chief Tom Hendrix and Emergency Services Coordinator Debra Kreske will be in charge of coordinating efforts in case of a natural disaster.

There is a projected $33 billion loss to unreinforced buildings in Southern California.
Woodframe construction generally fares well in earthquake shaking and woodframe buildings are less likely than other types of buildings to be damaged. However, because woodframe construction is so prevalent in California, substantial losses will still occur.
Woodframe building damage is most likely:

• in older homes where the house is not bolted to the foundation or the cripple wall is not reinforced.
• in buildings with a "soft first story" - a large opening such as garage door or display windows on the first floor and without compensating reinforcement.
• in buildings where building codes were not rigorously followed--a condition difficult to recognized until after the earthquake.

The economic impact of the earthquake is not limited to the structures and goods broken or burnt in the event.

Much of the economic activity of Southern California will be interrupted by the damage to structures and infrastructure. In particular, beyond their direct losses in stock (such as buildings, machines, and inventory), businesses will be unable to function because of loss of electricity, gas, water and a transportation system.

Some of the losses can be recaptured when the business resumes but the amount recaptured decreases with time as customers and suppliers find alternatives. Because the duration of outage is so long, the lack of water conveyance becomes the largest factor in business interruption losses for the ShakeOut earthquake, resulting in $50 billion in lost economic activity.

To read the entire 312-study put together by more than 300 scientists, check out http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1150/of2008-1150small.pdf.

Reporter Stacia Glenn at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton said there are no employee or patient injuries at the hospital. There is minor building damage to the third-floor patient unit, where there is a broken wall and burst pipe, hospital spokesman Jorge Valencia tells her.

The floor has been evacuated, and everyone has been moved to the north building.

The hospital has received 49 patients, 15 to intensive car, 32 needing surgery and two of those have been sent to the burn unit.

The hospital has put out a call for all medical personnel to come in and help treat patients. Personnel should bring their medical licenses to the medical cafe area.

The hospital has also set up an employee assistance area with babysitting and a shuttle service to pick up employees who need a ride.

Employees should call (909) 456-7891 if they need a ride.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

Electric power will go out immediately but will be restored to 90 percent of those capable of receiving it within three days.

Pipeline damage causes the loss of piped drinking water in much of the most strongly shaken areas for a week or more.

Telecommunications are severely impacted as a result of heightened demand after the earthquake, and to a limited extent because of damage to telephone switching facilities and fiber-optic cables.

Between 100,000 and 200,000 addresses lose phone and Internet service for between two to five days.

Given the severity of the damage, the numbers of deaths, and the large portion of the population that would need to evacuate their homes for a period of time, it is estimated that more than 200,000 individuals would experience a new mental health disorder.

In San Bernardino County, experts said 68,743 residents would suffer from disorders like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Five highrise buildings in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties are expected to collapse after the earthquake.

The study estimates that in the San Bernardino collapse 92 people will die, 25 people will be severely injured, 41 will seek medical attention at a hospital and another 119 will suffer minor injuries.

Altogether, these five buildings result in an additional 439 deaths, 117 injuries requiring trauma care, and an additional 800 individuals seeking care from emergency departments and other sources of medical care.

The governor and the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors have declared a state of emergency.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

The number of people injured in San Bernardino County is expected to equal the number of those injured in Riverside and Los Angeles counties combined.

Ground motion and the resultant damage will result in approximately 260 deaths. This is eight times the number of deaths experienced in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

San Bernardino County is hardest hit, with more than 130 deaths resulting from building damage from ground shaking (excluding steel-frame highrises).

About 1,000 people will need to be transported to hospitals by emergency responders.
This is a significant increase over the average number of EMS transports, especially for San Bernardino County (4.5 times their daily baseline load) and Riverside County (2.5 times their daily baseline load).

We are receiving reports that numerous buildings in downtown San Bernardino have collapsed, including at least one highrise. Many of the older, masonry buildings have been destroyed.

There are fires on both the west and east sides of the 215 Freeway, but it is not clear how big they are.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

The study estimates that there will be five moderate landslides in the Cajon Pass, moving one- to 15-million cubic meters of rock and soil.

A worst-case scenario projects that the 15 Freeway shifts and both the north and southbound lanes are displaced.

There could be up to 73,000 cubic meters of debris on the freeway.

More than 111,000 commuters are expected to be trapped.

Railroad lines will also be uprooted and buried under debris.

A 36-inch gas line could be displaced at up to four locations. Other buried petroleum product lines and fiber-optic communication lines are expected to be displaced by landslides and/or buried by debris at multiple locations.

Nine-year-old Victoria Elementary School student, Tina Ngo ducks under a table with classmates as her school participates in the Great Southern California Shakeout, which is the largest earthquake drill in history intended to prepared residents for the disaster. More than 469,000 county residents had registered to participate in "duck, cover and hold on" events.

Total Regional Economic Impacts of Shake-Out (in billions of 2008 dollars).
Building Damage: $32.7
Related Content Damage: 10.6
High-Rise Building Damage: 2.2
Related Content Damage: 0.7
Fire Damage: 40.0
Related Content Damage: 25.0
Highway Damage: 0.4
Pipeline (water, sewer, gas) Damage: 1.1
Sub-total Property Damage: 112.7
Business Interruption: 96.2
Relocation Costs: 0.1
Traffic Delay Costs: 4.3
Sub-total Additional Costs: 4.4
Total: $213.3

Residents and businesses should be prepared for a large scale natural disaster just as they would be for fire, said Carrie Cruz, Pomona's emergency services and risk coordinator. In such a situation city resources would be likely be strained and so will those of neighboring cities. People should keep in mind it could day take for resources to reach residents of businesses.

For that reason, as part of their plans, residents and businesses should have enough food, water and supplies for seven to 10 days.

A key to those preparations is pre-planning and talking about such situations as a family and in the workplace.

Assistant to the City Manager Mark Gluba said 12 city employees are reported dead and various city facilities have had extensive damage including Pomona City Hall, which has been red tagged. Various fires have broken out in the city.

City officials have received word that five area hospitals, including Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, are not receiving patients.  The city's emergency operations center was activated, Gluba said, and the City Council Chambers is serving as a joint information center with briefings from the city, Pomona Police and the Los Angeles County Fire Department being provide there.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

At Pomona Unified School District officials are getting reports back from schools. District officials have heard from about half of it's 43 schools who have accounted for all students and personnel, said Tim McGillivray, district spokesman. 

Officials are in the process of accounting for personnel at the district offices which sustained some damage, he said.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

While on a field trip students from Victoria Elementary School had to duck and cover during a 7.1 earthquake on Thursday, November 13, 2008.



The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

A massive wildfire has ignited in the Cajon Pass, endangering at least hundreds of people. The 15 Freeway has been destroyed in the pass, stranding drivers near the fire.

There are also reports of train derailments in the pass because the earthquake destroyed tracks through the Cajon Pass. Emergency personnel are having trouble accessing the area.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

Cell phones networks are overwhelmed. Only use them if necessary or to contact emergency personnel.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

Residents are advised to assemble an emergency kit and develop a communication plan for the family. Officials advise that emergency personnel may be delayed in getting to a neighborhood due to the nature of the disaster. In the event of an disaster, residents are advised to work together with neighbors to take care of any immediate needs until professional help can arrive. Interested community volunteers to help with disaster response can register with the city at www.chinopd.org.

The number of ignitions that will create fires large enough to call the fire department can be extrapolated from previous earthquakes and depends upon the number of households at different levels of seismic shaking.

This leads to an estimate of 1,600 ignitions of which 1,200 will be too large to be controlled by one fire engine company.

In areas of dense, wood-frame construction, these fires, if not controlled, will grew quickly to involve tens or hundreds of city blocks.

The fire risk is increased by the damage to the water distribution system and by the traffic gridlock that will result from the ShakeOut earthquake.

Costs for fire damages are estimated at $40 billion for buildings and $25 billion in damage to building contents.

The massive earthquake that rattled Southern California this morning has made it difficult to reach emergency personnel. The Sun cannot reach the county's emergency operations center.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton is built to withstand an 8.3 earthquake, so it would survive the ShakeOut scenario.

The hospital has a well onsite and a 750,000-gallon water holding tank. It also has eight backup generators (it only takes one to power all of the hospital's emergency plugs).

"It was really designed well in anticipation that something like this could happen," said AMRC's disaster coordinator Scott Smith.

Mass casualty tents would be set up outside the hospital to treat more patients and officials are looking into setting up a triage somewhere in the city, possibly at a community center.

That would allow medical personnel to evaluate injuries and determine who would be sent to the hospital.

The City Emergency Operations Plan is updated every three years, and a copy is located at the James S. Thalman Chino Hills Branch Library for viewing.

City resources will most likely be overwhelmed following a disaster. Residents are encouraged to stock auxiliary supplies, prepare a family plan, and be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours following a disaster.

Emergency preparedness literature is available at City Hall. Information is also available at the following websites: www.redcross.org, www.oes.ca.gov, and www.dhs.gov.

To prepare for an earthquake, residents are advised to identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them. Residents should also create a disaster plan and disaster supply kits. For more information, visit www.earthquakecountry.info/roots.

In the event of an evacuation order, the City will activate an Evacuation Center/Emergency shelter where residents can receive information and emergency services. City facilities and public schools have been pre-identified as potential sites and will be activated according to the size and location of the emergency evacuation. Residents can get timely emergency information by calling the Chino Hills Emergency Hotline at (909) 364-2828.

Officials project 1,800 deaths, of which about half occur because of the fires following the earthquake.

There will also be about 750 people with severe injuries who will require rapid, advanced medical care to survive.

Approximately 50,000 people will have injuries that need emergency room care.

11:04 a.m. Initial reports are that hundreds have died in the earthquake, although officials said it will be days or even weeks before an official count is done.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

Students from Victoria Elementary School in Redlands participate in the Great Southern California Shakeout, which is the largest earthquake drill in history intended to prepared residents for the disaster. More than 469,000 county residents had registered to participate in "duck, cover and hold on" events, Thursday, Nov., 13, 2008.

-Eric Reed, Staff photographer

Police Captain Stan Van Horn, who manages the Support Services Division, said the shakeout would start at 10 a.m. and the Claremont's Emergency Operations Center would be open.

The city of Claremont is working with the Claremont Unified School District, the Claremont Colleges, the Claremont Chapter of the Red Cross, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and local utilities to open the City's Emergency Operations Center and local utilities will open the center with simulation information from the United States Geological Survey.

The training includes practicing communications between different emergency response departments within Claremont and Los Angeles County.

In case of an emergency residents will receive a reverse 911 phone call from the department of emergency services informing them of the particular disaster and advising them what to do and where to go.

If there is a major disaster residents are advised to take shelter in their home, unless city officials have recommended an alternate location, said Mike Donley,<NO1>\<cq\><NO> emergency services coordinator.

Residents are also advised to keep an emergency kit at their home or car including non-perishable foods, a battery operated radio and plenty of water. The emergency kit should last up to one week.

Residents who are injured should go to the hospital. However those who are injured due to any biochemical material should alert their local hospital and remain in their home.

Any questions or concerns should be directed to the Montclair fire department: (909) 477-3540.

Check out several miniature computer simulations depicting the shaking that could happen in cities throughout Southern California.

Visit: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/simulations/shakeout

The message has been playing out across the state for nearly 45 minutes, and officials think people are getting the point.

10:40 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that the aftershock was magnitude-7 and struck at 10:33 a.m.

It's epicenter is near the Salton Sea and ruptured south toward Mexico.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

A second aftershock, magnitude-7.2, is projected to occur 17 hours after the main earthquake on the Cucamonga Fault, rupturing along the front of the San Gabriel Mountains from the Cajon Pass to Monrovia.

Disaster Preparedness in the city is coordinated through the Technical Services Bureau of the Ontario Fire Department, said Samuel Musgraves, emergency manager for the city.

Musgraves said the city has identified locations that would serve as emergency centers in the event of a major disaster. The locations for centers would all depend on whether that location was safe to open up for residents.

For additional emergency planning, guidance and information about emergency preparedness, contact the Ontario Office of Emergency Management at (909) 395-2545.

10:36 a.m. The first major aftershock just rolled through the state, spiking fear among residents and emergency responders who are still dealing with the chaos of this morning's 7.8 quake.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

The clock struck 10 a.m.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- The emergency preparedness and response team from the city's fire department will lead rescue efforts in the event of a major natural disaster.

Residents should call City Hall at (909) 477-2700, visit www.cityofrc.us, or tune in to Charter Cable RCTV Channel 3 for emergency information.

10:19 a.m. Reports are coming in that the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass was severely damaged in the quake, stranding thousands of commuters.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

About 5.2 million people throughout California registered to participate in the largest-ever earthquake drill today.

About 476,000 of them live in San Bernardino County.

Most participants practiced "duck, cover and hold on" but many others took the time to create disaster kits and practice evacuation plans.

Three hundred schoolchildren took a tour of the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands this morning to get a firsthand glimpse at the destruction an earthquake could cause.

Both Loma Linda University Medical Center and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton practiced their evacuation plans.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

10:05 am. The quake that shook Southern California this morning at 10 a.m. was a magnitude-7.8 quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It was apparently centered near the southern section of the San Andreas Fault, which runs from the Salton Sea in the Coachella Valley to just south of Gorman.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

Very strong shaking is expected to last three minutes near the San Andreas Fault, which runs directly through the Cajon Pass.

Strong shaking with medium to long durations (20-45 sec) are expected in the basins near the fault, including the Coachella, San Bernardino and Antelope valleys.

Damaging shaking will happen over large areas of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.

Pockets of very strong shaking with long durations (45-60 sec) expected in areas of the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

10:01 a.m. A major earthquake has rattled the region.
More details to come.

- The Sun and Bulletin newspapers are covering the Great Southern California Shakeout drill as if it were a real-time event. You are reading about simulated disaster events from various local areas and the agencies that cover them. What you have read are practice drills held by fire, police and local hospitals.

stacia.glenn@inlandnewspapers.com

Check out these sites for information on earthquake preparedness and safety:

Drop, Cover, and Hold On

ShakeOut: What You Can Do

Dare to Prepare

Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country

Information in Multiple languages

Terremotos.org

U.S. Geological Survey

With 22 million people living and working in southern California, a major earthquake in the region could cause an unprecedented catastrophe. What we do now, before a big earthquake, will determine what our lives will be like after. With earthquakes an inevitable part of southern California's future, Californians must act quickly to ensure that disasters do not become catastrophes. With this in mind, the Earthquake Country Alliance has organized the Great Southern California ShakeOut, a week of special events featuring a massive earthquake drill at 10 AM on November 13, 2008.

The ShakeOut drill centers on the ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario, a realistic portrayal of what could happen in a major earthquake on the southern end of the San Andreas Fault. Created by over 300 experts led by Dr. Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey, the scenario outlines a hypothetical 7.8 magnitude earthquake originating near the Salton Sea, which would have the potential to devastate the region.

While earthquakes cannot be predicted or prevented, steps can be taken to prepare in order to make a difference in how our lives will be after an earthquake. Secure your space by strapping top-heavy furniture, water heaters, and other items to walls or tabletops. Strengthen your buildings walls and foundation if necessary. Of course, it is important to have resources to protect yourself and others should assistance be slow in arriving. Three to 14 days worth of water for each person, non-perishable food, and a fire extinguisher, among other supplies, can be valuable resources to have stored and ready for such a disaster.

With a goal of at least 5 million participants, the ShakeOut drill will be the largest in U.S. history. To participate, go to www.ShakeOut.org/register and pledge your family, school, business, or organization's participation in the drill. Registered participants will receive information on how to plan their drill, connect with other participants, and encourage a dialogue with others about earthquake preparedness. There are many ways to take part, but at the least participants should Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 10 A.M. on November 13. It all begins with registering, which is free and open to everyone.

For more information, visit www.ShakeOut.org and be sure to visit the official ShakeOut Blog at greatsocalshakeout.blogspot.com.