Karmic Knowledge

Sunday morning I had a phone reading scheduled with a client in Hawaii. When she called in, she told me that there had been an earthquake in the last hour and that she had just gotten her phone service back. Her power was still out but we kept our appointment and did her reading, only losing the phone connection once.

I’ve lived through many earthquakes myself, including the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake that interrupted the 1989 San Francisco World Series Game. In 2000 I left “earthquake country” and moved north. In February of 2001, having lived in Portland for about a year, I was mildy surprised to feel a small quake, though I recongized the experience right away. I later learned that it was centered near Olympia, Washington.

More surprising to me than the quake itself was the reaction of the people working in the downtown office buildings here in Portland. They did what you are never supposed to do when there’s an earthquake; they left the buildings and stood in the street.

If you live or work in California, you’ve been through earthquake drills. Your house is bolted to its foundation. You don’t have any brick buildings in your neighborhood. Here in the Pacific Northwest, earthquake preparedness just doesn’t seem to be a priority. Considering how many volcanoes are here, many active, it should be more of a concern.

Here, then, are Leslie’s handy dandy hints for what to do in an earthquake:

1. If you are indoors, stay indoors. Move away from windows and anything that can fall on you, like a chandelier or bookcase. If you can, get under a sturdy desk or table. If that’s not possible, stand in a doorway.
2. If you are in an office building, don’t use the elevators. (During the Loma Prieta quake my best friend was working as a building manager in a downtown high rise. She spent the 12 hours following the quake working to get several people out of elevators that were stuck between floors.)
3. If you are outdoors, get as far away as possible from electrical wires, trees and buildings. Stay close to the ground until the shaking stops. If you are driving, pull over as soon as it’s safe. Do not cross bridges or enter tunnels.
4. When the shaking stops it may be necessary to turn off gas and water lines. If you don’t know where they are, after the quake is not the time to find out.

These things may seem like common sense, but I find that very few of my NW friends think about them. With all the earth changes that are occuring, we in the Pacific Northwest can no longer afford to be casual about the possibility of a major earthquake happening here.

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