July 4th is supposed to be a day of celebrating our independence as Americans: cookouts, family gatherings, fireworks, laughter, and so on. That wasn’t the case for many residents of Southern California and surrounding areas for 2019’s Independence Day. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck 125 miles north of Los Angeles, and the impact was felt in places as far away as parts of Mexico, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The quake was the largest one California had seen in decades. There was another, more sizable, 7.1 magnitude quake that hit California the next day, July 5th. The quakes caused enough damage to the earth’s crust that it was visible from images obtained by satellites. According to USGS, an earthquake with an intensity level of 7, like the one that it California on July 5th, is considered very strong. An M7 can cause “considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures. When the next earthquake will strike is something most Californians talk about often, but it’s impossible to predict exactly when and where one will occur. Seismologists are predicting that more earthquakes could happen in the near future, and perhaps even larger ones than the ones felt on July 4th weekend. And of course, everyone talks about “the big one” - which could be far more disastrous than the most recent quakes we’ve seen. Are you prepared for the next earthquake?

You Can’t Rely on Federal Agencies

As many Californians can attest to, earthquakes are unpredictable and can strike with very little or no notice. These government bodies do their best to help those in need after disasters strike. But unfortunately, there are too many people who are left unprepared or underprepared. These people are either unaware of the risks of failing to properly prepare themselves, or they rely on government agencies to take care of them. As it currently stands, the majority of federal funds available for disaster mitigation has been committed to help reduce structural damage. The result means that funds to increase protection and coverage for citizens is lacking. Either way, we can’t sit idly by and wait for someone else to prepare for the next quake for us - we need to do so for ourselves. Thankfully, citizens of neighboring towns, local government officials and private companies did offer as much as they could in the aftermath of the quakes that struck California on July 4th weekend. Despite their best efforts though, there were still people who experienced injuries, disruptions to their homes and lives, and were potentially left wondering what to do. The answer is to get prepared and stay prepared because another quake could strike again at any time.

The Necessity of Staying Prepared

The recent quakes that hit California were a reminder for those of us who are prepared that we need to stay prepared. And they were a wakeup call for some who aren’t. The best thing that you can do right now is to ensure that you have enough food, water and supplies to last you for 72-hours. We have several blog articles detailing our recommendations for what to include in these survival kits, so be sure to check those out if you are unsure what to include if you are building your earthquake survival kit. 72-hour kits are just the bare minimum, though. We recommend that you consider keeping a survival kit handy that can sustain the lives of yourself and your family for up to a week. While we can never fully guarantee that we will be fully prepared and protected, at least having a 72-hour kit on hand will greatly increase our chances of survival and increase the likelihood of our well being during a distributing even such as an earthquake. Will you be ready for the next time a quake hits?

High-Quality Earthquake Survival Kits

If you have the time to spend on building your own earthquake survival kit, that’s great. We have dedicated a lot of resources to help people prepare and stay prepared to sustain themselves and survive the terrifying occurrence of an earthquake. However, the reality is that many of us simply do not have the free time to devote to acquiring all the items necessary to build a proper survival kit. Here at More Prepared, we have been helping organizations and individuals prepare for natural disasters for almost 15 years. We carry a complete line of earthquake survival kits for your home, office, car, and pets. Some of these high-quality kits conveniently come with a sturdy backpack for storage and swift access, should you need to quickly evacuate. You can also customize any kit you’d like. We are here to help answer any of your questions or take custom orders anytime, just call or fill out the form on our website. We also work closely with schools, youth groups, and other organizations for fundraisers. Don’t jeopardize the safety and sustainability of yourself, your family, or your coworkers. Prepare yourself immediately for another earthquake or a natural disaster. We don’t know when the next one will strike, but we do know for a fact that it will happen again.