Loma Prieta 30th Anniversary - Page 2

'Shake, Rattle…and Retrofit' gets deeper into the nuts and bolts of preparedness, sometimes literally, like this news flash about foundation attachment hardware: "Following failures after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, building code now requires the use of a larger, thicker, square washer in place of the small, thin, round ones that were used for many years. The larger washers help to clamp the sill from the top instead of relying only on the bolt extending through the wood sill for sliding resistance."

Biondo's new feature is strong on useful lists and important websites, like those of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Office of Emergency Services, the Southern California Earthquake Center, the American Red Cross, and the Great American Shakeout project.

"Pack your survival and first-aid kits well," advises Biondo. For economy and convenience, she adds, "Consider starting with a pre-packaged emergency kit and customizing it to your needs."

"A good first step in assembling earthquake kits is to download an Earthquake Safety Checklist from the FEMA website. Using this helpful guide will make assembling a kit much easier," writes Biondo. "Pet owners may also want to order a Pet First Aid and Disaster Response Guide available from SOS Survival Products."

Along with providing checklists for both medical and survival kits, the CA-Modern story recommends six different ready-made disaster kits on the market from which to choose.

Overall, if you live in a mid-century modern home and want to know how to best make your home and family earthquake ready, start with our two articles, beginning with 'Quake-up Call,' a sneak preview of the Fall 2019 issue of CA-Modern.