Preparing for Diasters

Here in San Diego North County

Don’t want to be negative but, it seems that we have had a lot of diasters over the last couple of years.  Even though we think it may not happen to us here in San Diego North county, we need to be prepared.   Wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires in our Carlsbad homes require similar preparation.  Many of the things you can do to prepare for a one disaster will also apply to other areas of disaster preparation.  So protect your Carlsbad home, other Carlsbad property, and protect yourself.

■Have a disaster plan in place for yourself and your home.  Be ready to evacuate your Carlsbad home should you be told to do so.  I remember in the 2007 fires, when the pressure was on, I was a little confused on exactly what I wanted to take with me.  Make an evacuation list of things to take and keep it in a safe place.  Don’t forget your pets.  Practice evacuating a few times a year.

■Make sure you can communicate in case of a disaster.  Your electricity in your Carlsbad home will probably be the first thing  to go so have a back up plan.   Your cordless telephone needs power to work, so don’t rely on it.  You will need to have one or more cell phones.  Don’t waste your cell phone battery, it also needs electricity to recharge.  You might consider having a charger that will work off your car.   During the 2007 firestorm, over 80,000 SDG&E customers lost electrical power.

■Also, to receive incoming communications and to just know what is happening, you should have a battery powered radio.  Make sure it always has good batteries.   It is best  to pack the batteries separate from the radio in a plastic bag to help keep them fresh.

■Register you and your family with AlertSanDiego.  This is San Diego county’s emergency notification system.   Register all the cell phones in your Carlsbad home by going to www.ReadySanDiego.org.    Just click on the cell phone logo.  It is free to register anywhere in San Diego North County.  In case of an emergency, you will receive a reverse 911 call to let you know Carlsbad real estate area evacuation information and fire updates, even if you are away from your Carlsbad property.

■Take a look at the outside of your Carlsbad real estate.  Do you see anything you can do to reduce the chance of a fire reaching your  home?   Remove any fire hazards near your Carlsbad home.  Give your Carlsbad house a chance by creating a 100 foot defensible area around the home.  Remove piles of firewood and clean the dead leaves out of the gutter.   Keep the trees trimmed and  make  sure sure none tough your Carlsbad property.

■Make sure you have adequate insurance on your Carlsbad real estate.  Don’t be wishing you could increase it at the last moment.

■Keep an emergency supply of food and water in your Carlsbad home.  You should have enough to last at least three days.  A minimum of a gallon of water for each person for each day should work.  You can get an idea of what to have in your emergency supply by contacting www.ReadySanDiego.org.
There are many more things that could be include in this disaster plan, but my goal is to just get you started on preparing your plan today.  If you need more information contact Gary Harmon, your top Carlsbad Realtor.

7.2 Earthquake – How to be Ready

Escondido HomeEverywhere in the Escondido real estate area may be susceptible to damage from an earthquake, maybe even a bigger one than hit this Easter. We all need to be ready. Here are some of the things we can do.

  1. Identify earthquake hazards in your Escondido home. Secure everything around your Escondido property that might fall and hurt someone. This is easily done if you secure items as you buy them. For example, when I bought my big screen television, I secured it to the wall of my Escondido home with a safety wire. If you are starting from scratch, buy a stud finder at a North County Home Depot or Lowes and use it to find the proper studs. Of course, the water heater in the garage must have straps.
  2. Create a disaster plan. Talk with each one in your family and plan what to do in case of an earthquake. Have a meeting place outside of your Escondido home, but close by so everyone can be quickly accounted for. Learn basic first aid if possible. Have a place away from your Escondido property you can call, preferably out of state. The out of state phone lines won’t be as crowded. Learn how to deal with a lack of utilities and basic services. Also, expect aftershocks.
  3. Make up some disaster supplies kits. These kits would be useful in any type of emergency. Everyone in your North County home should have one. It is a good idea to have one at home, school, work, etc. You should have a large kit for your home that would last everyone three days to a week. These kits should contain food, water, clothes, and sanitary supplies. Your San Diego Red Cross sells kits and also has tips on what to put in the kits if you make your own.
  4. Have your Escondido property checked to identify any weaknesses. There are common issues that a home inspector will know that could help your North County home be stronger. If you just purchase a North County home, your Escondido real estate inspector will have made sure you had earthquake straps.
  5. During an Earthquake you should drop, cover and hold on. Drop to the floor, take cover under a strong table or desk, and hold on firmly. If there are no tables close by, drop to the floor next to an interior wall of your Escondido home.
  6. After the quake, check everything for damages or injuries. Always be calm and take care of yourself first so you will be available to help others. When you are sure you are safe, then you can start helping others. You need to know how to turn off leaking gas, water, or electricity if necessary.
  7. When you know you are safe, you can continue to follow your disaster plan. Stay away from the coast if there is any possibility of a tsunami. Listen to your battery powered radio for any emergency instructions. The station would be 600 AM . Call your out of area contact and let them know you are OK.    Escondido real estate information, call Gary Harmon, a top Escondido Realtor.

7 Steps to Earthquake Safety

Escondido HomeEverywhere in the Escondido real estate area may be susceptible to damage from an earthquake, maybe even a big one.  We all need to be ready.

  1. Identify earthquake hazards in your Escondido home. Secure everything around your Escondido property that might  fall and hurt someone.  This is easily done if you do items as you buy them.  For example, when I bought my big screen tv, I secured it to the wall of my Escondido home with a safety wire.  If you are starting from scratch, buy a stud finder at Escondido Home Depot or Lowes and use it to find the proper studs.  Of course, the water heater in the garage must have straps.
  2. Create a diaster plan. Talk with each one in your family and plan what to do in case of an earthquake.  Have a meeting place outside of your Escondido home, but close by so everyone can be quickly accounted for.  Learn basic first aid if possible.  Have a place away from your Escondido property you can call, preferably out of state.  The out of state phone lines won’t be as crowded.  Learn how to deal with a lack of utilities and basic services.  Also, expect aftershocks.
  3. Make up some disaster supplies kits.  These kits would be useful in any type of emergency.  Everyone in your Escondido home should have one.  It is a good idea to have one at home, school, work, etc.    You should have a large kit for your home that would last everyone three days to a week.  These kits should contain food, water, clothes, and sanitary supplies.  Your San Diego Red Cross sells kits and also has tips on what to put in the kits if you make your own.
  4. Have your Escondido property checked to identify any weaknesses.   There are common issues that a home inspector will know that could help your Escondido home be stronger.  If you just purchase an  Escondido home, your Escondido real estate inspector will have made sure you had earthquake straps.
  5. During an Earthquake you should drop, cover and hold on.  Drop to the floor, take cover under a strong table or desk, and hold on firmly.  If there are no tables closeby, drop to the floor next to an interior wall of your Escondido home.
  6. After the quake, check everything for damages or injuries.  Always be calm and take care of yourself  first so you will be ok to help others.  When  you are sure you are safe, then you can start helping others.  You need to know how to turn off leaking gas, water, or electricity if necessary.
  7. When you know you ae safe, you can continue to follow your disaster plan.  Stay away from the coast if there is any possibility of a tsunami.  Listen to your battery powered radio for any emergency instructions.  The station would be 600 AM .   Call your out of area contact and let them know you are ok.     For Escondido real estate information, call Gary Harmon, your top Escondido Realtor.