How to Prepare Well for an Earthquake! [Go-Bag]

June 28th 2016

This is not a regular post, regarding how to survive an earthquake. Just to clear one thing up, standing under a door won’t do you any good. The topic “how to survive an earthquake” is covered during our Crisis Management training course. This course helps individuals and organisations prepare their own survival techniques and methods towards various emergencies including the possibility of a large scale earthquake.

This post concerns everyone out there who wants to take the next step, by preparing his Go-Bag. Yes there are plenty of people who take these things seriously and you should do the same. Usually we tend to act after the emergency has occurred, because we just haven’t suffered the consequences of such an event up to this current day. “Is not going to happen to me” or “what are the chances of happening, and what are the chances on affecting my home or business”, common things people say. But what if it does! Shouldn’t we prepare for the worst and hope for the best?

You can find a first aid course by viewing our seminars in Cyprus section.

A GO-Bag is an emergency backpack that includes the basics to survive a minimum of three to five days in the wilderness or in a shelter.  Everyone should have one prepared at all times! The below information may help you make the necessary preparations.

Ensure that your GO-Bag has:

*Items with this mark are supplementary and may be selected according to your needs.

The Bag itself:

    1. Bag (some say choose the bag after you gathered the items)

Go Bag

Water:

  1. Bottled water (2-3 liters)
  2. LifeStraw – which can filter up to 1000 litters of water, very essential after an earthquake where water contamination is expected to happen. To buy this check the original website here.

water and lifestraw

Food:

  1. ‘Emergency Rations’ ready to eat meals
  2. Protein or energy bars
  3. *Fork/knife/spoon (survival design for compact space)

food and survival knife and fork

Clothing:

  1. *Sturdy shoes
  2. *Change of clothes – suitable for the weather conditions (use vacuum plastic bags to keep clothes dry so they consume less space)

clothing for survival

Shelter:

  1. *In most cases this can be improvised accordingly. With an isothermal blanket (space blanket) and some tape you can create a shelter suitable for mid-season.

shelter with isothermal blanket

Heat Source:

  1. Lighter or matches
  2. *Tinder

lighter and matches for survival

First Aid:

  1. Prescription medications
  2. First aid kit
  3. Isothermal Blanket  (also referred to as emergency or space blanket)
  4. Dust mask
  5. Over-the-counter pills for relief from general pain, inflammation, histamine and abdominal pain.
  6. *Epipen for anaphylactic shock
  7. *Mask (some choose even a more sophisticated mask that can protect an individual from poisonous gases)
  8. *List of allergies to any drug (especially antibiotics) or food

first aid items for survival

Hygiene:

  1. Travel size toothbrush and toothpaste
  2. Hygiene/Signal Mirror
  3. *Toilet paper
  4. *Personal hygiene items

Hygiene for survival situations

Tools and lighting:

  1. Survival knife, multi-tool or machete
  2. LED Flashlight
  3. Radio – (battery operated – added benefits a solar panel)
  4. Extra batteries for all devices
  5. Duct Tape
  6. *Plastic zip tie

tools, batteries, radio, duct tape

Travel Aids:

  1. Whistle
  2. Emergency cash in small bills (don’t expect people to give you change after a transaction)
  3. Small regional map
  4. Compass
  5. List of emergency contact phone numbers (although in most cases the phones will not operate)
  6. Permanent marker and paper
  7. Copy of identification cards, insurance card, passport, driving license or other important paperwork, protected in a waterproof container
  8. *Credit and debit card

travel-aids

Miscellaneous:

  1. Sunglasses
  2. Radio for communication (walkie-talkie)
  3. *Photos of family members for re-identification purposes
  4. *Extra prescription eye glasses, hearing aid or other vital personal items
  5. *Extra keys to your house and vehicle
  6. *Any special-needs items for children, seniors or people with disabilities.

Miscellaneous

The Go-Bag should be for each family member. Usually the children and women carry a smaller backpack with fewer items especially if one member carries the larger backpack. Try to avoid using bright color backpacks that can draw the attention of others.

According to the season you may alter the contents of your Go-Bag. Do not forget to consume/replace some nearly expired products.