We had a little reminder the other morning about being ready for disasters around here – specifically, earthquakes. That reminder was in the form of a teeny tiny 3.5 quake at 3 in the morning. Only reason we noticed it was because the baby started crying just before, and so we were awake already. We had another small one yesterday morning, a 3.3.

Living in southern California, that’s not much of a quake. But it’s a good reminder to be prepared for disasters in general. Which kind you should prepare for depends on where you live.

One of the big things we did was have a quake talk with the kids. Basic stuff like what to do in a quake, places of the house to avoid (that would be shelves and other furniture that might tip), where to go if they needed to get out of the house and getting help if 911 isn’t available.

All stuff we hope they never need, but should know.

We still need to rebuild our earthquake supplies. We had a good stash in the Poway house, and a good place to keep it. Haven’t quite figured out the storage problem here. Inside the house is good for the most part, but if the quake’s bad enough to render the house uninhabitable, how do you get your supplies?

It’s a relatively new house so that’s not too likely to be a problem even in a bad quake, but you never know.

I’m not big on going wild with preparations for all kinds of disasters, but I do believe in having water and food available for at least a few days for all members of the family, some medical supplies and so forth. It’s been proven that you cannot assume the government will be able to help out everyone in the event of a disaster within a reasonable time frame. Better to have something to take care of your own family.