- Choose a safe place in every room - under a sturdy table or desk or against an inside wall, away from glass, where nothing can fall on you.
- Practice DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON at least twice a year. Drop under a sturdy desk or table, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If there's no table or desk nearby, sit on the floor against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you. Teach children to DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON!
- Choose an out-of-town family contact.
- Get training in how to use a fire extinguisher from your local fire department.
- Learn how to turn off gas, electricity, and water.
- Develop an emergency communications plan in case family members are separated(a real possibility during the day when adults are at work and children are at school)
- Develop a plan for reuniting after the disaster.
- Keep a copy of all important documents at an alternate place like work.
- Gather the supplies recommeded in the "Supplies for Home" link
Consult a professional to find out additional ways you can protect your home, such as bolting the house to its foundation and other structural mitigation techniques.
- Fasten shelves securely to walls, and place heavy objects on lower shelves.
- Store breakable items in low, closed cabinets.
- Install strong latches on cabinets.
- Hang items such as pictures and mirrors away from beds and anywhere people sit. Use Velcro to secure them to the surface close to them.
- Brace hanging light fixtures.
- Repair known defective electrical wiring and gas connections.
- Strap your water heater to studs in the wall and bolt it to the floor.
- Repair any large existing cracks in walls or foundations.
- Store poisons such as pesticides and herbicides, as well as flammable liquids, on bottoms shelves of latched cabinets.
