Earthquake Hits The Pacific Northwest

I have replaced the article I originally planned to publish today with this one. It may be a bit rough as I am writing it at the last minute. I feel that with today’s events there are many important issues that need to be addressed since so many of them have hit close to home for me today. This month’s normal article will appear next month.

Today, February 28, 2001, at 10:54 am a 6.8 Earthquake hit the Pacific Northwest where I live. The quake was felt hundreds of miles away and seemed, to me, to last forever. The State of Washington was hit harder than our area but we still shook and rolled. I have many relatives living near the area where the epicenter was located. I was at work on the phone with our telephone company when the quake hit and it took me a couple of seconds to realize what was happening. Once I did, I was glad that I had taken the time to prepare should something like this happen. At that moment I had no idea what was happening outside of the room I was in. I think that's part of the reason to be prepared. You just never know when or what Mother Nature may decide to do.

Another thing I was very grateful for was the fact that my daughter, who is 12, knew what to do when the quake occurred. She was home alone with a cold at the time and she ran and took cover in the doorway of our bathroom. She was very scared and upset when I finally was able to get to her but she was prepared enough to be able to stay calm and keep her wits about her so she could get to a safe place.

This brings up another point, our children. It is extremely important that we help them to become prepared for natural disasters. They need to know where the “safe” areas of our homes are. They should also know where we are storing our emergency preparedness kit. Let them participate in the preparation and gathering of the supplies. Discuss the reason you are preparing this kit. I think the more information the children have and can learn, the easier it will be able for them to handle a situation like and earthquake. The important thing to remember is keep the learning at your child’s level using words and descriptions they will be able to relate to.

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