In Victoria, things that go bump in the night aren鈥檛 ghosts 鈥� they are usually earthquakes. Just before midnight on Tuesday, another one rattled the city, reminding us yet again that the earth is moving under our feet.
In this case, it was a 4.3 to 4.8 quake that shook picture frames and banged doors but hurt no one. Many of us slept through it; many felt it, shrugged and went back to sleep.
At the other end of the scale, about 40 Victorians called 911, as if there were something police or firefighters could do about it. VicPD pleaded on Twitter for people to stop tying up the emergency lines, unless someone was hurt.
It was further evidence that we have work to do in earthquake education. The admonition to 鈥渄rop, cover and hold on鈥� is common knowledge, but how many of us know what it really means? And how many of us are prepared for what comes after the quake?
An emergency manager in 91原创 lamented that she has had to cancel public meetings on quake preparedness because no one showed up. That is likely to change 鈥� at least for a little while 鈥� thanks to this shaking.
Seismologists tell us that the big one is just a matter of time. Magnitude 9 earthquakes flatten cities. In a disaster like that, emergency services will be overwhelmed. We can鈥檛 count on help from 911, so we have to be ready to survive on our own for at least three days.
Make sure your family has an emergency kit ready and an emergency plan that everyone knows. It鈥檚 a good idea to talk to your neighbours about joint plans in case of disaster. Well-prepared people have emergency kits at home, in the car and at work.
If you need more information, PreparedBC has lots. The Earthquake Country Alliance in the U.S. also has plenty of information at earthquakecountry.org.
We live in earthquake country, where the seismologists near Sidney record about 1,000 quakes a year in Western Canada.
If Tuesday鈥檚 quake disturbed your sleep, perhaps it was a wakeup call.
