April is Earthquake Preparedness Month

On July 29 of last year, CC and I were at home when the electricity went out.

We live in an old building, so it's not too out of the ordinary for something like that to happen. (That and the water needing to be turned off periodically for pipe issues. Now that's a pain.) But what made me nervous was that it lasted for more than half an hour.

I had been getting ready for work, and CC was toddling around, and suddenly there was a rumbling before the entire building seemed to jerk to one side and then snap back. Just like that.

Not knowing exactly what it was, my first instinct was to scoop up my child and get the hell out of there. Which is exactly what I did. I called Ian, who was on his way to work, but no calls were getting through. When we got outside, there were tons of people already in the street and on the grass.

We had just experienced a 5.4 magnitude earthquake.

You might have seen the banners on light posts around the city, but if not, April is Earthquake Preparedness Month. CaliforniaVolunteers has been a great resource for informing residents on how to prepare just in case of disaster. They even sent over a kit filled with items such as packets of water and food, a flashlight and a first-aid kit.

Some tips include:

• Create a family disaster plan
• Practice that plan
• Build a supply kit for your home and car
• Talk to your kids about how to prepare

Everything was fine for us. CC and I walked back inside after several minutes and went about our daily routine. It's always good, though, to know what to expect and how to react.

I know April is almost over, but it's never too late to prepare.