Consider taking the following steps to protect yourself inside your house:
- Anchor bookcases and filing cabinets to nearby walls.
- Install latches on drawers and cabinets doors to keep contents from spilling.
- Install ledge barriers on shelves, place heavy items on lower shelves, and secure large, heavy items and breakables directly to shelves to keep them from falling.
- Use closed screw-eyes and wire to securely attach pictures and mirrors to the walls.
- Attach computers and small appliances to desks, tables or countertops.
- Secure ceiling lights, suspended ceilings and other hanging items such as chandeliers and plants to the permanent structure of your house.
- Apply safety film to windows and glass doors.
- Anchor large appliances to walls using safety cables or straps.
- Lock the rollers on any large appliances or pieces of furniture.
- Secure water heater(s) to nearby walls.
- Fit all gas appliances with flexible connections and/or a breakaway gas shut-off device, or install a mail gas shut-off device.
Here are some steps you can take to protect your house against damage:
An earthquake puts your home’s structure to the test. It must absorb the earthquake’s energy and provide a stable path to transfer these forces back into the ground. Your home is more likely to pass this test when it is properly tied together. That is, when the roof is attached tightly to the walls, the walls are fastened to each other and, finally, when the walls are braced and anchored to a strong foundation. If the structural elements of your home need reinforcing, some of the most important and common retrofits include:
- Adding anchor bolts or steel plates between your home and its foundation.
- Bracing the inside of your home’s cripple wall – the short wood-stud wall between the top of the foundation wall and the first floor – with sheathing.
- Bracing unreinforced chimneys, masonry and concrete walls and foundations.
To obtain more information on natural disasters, please contact:
