PRINCIPLES OF SURVIVAL
After a mega-earthquake, you need to act in ways that will help you survive. None of us will be ready to deal with every situation we may face. Having a few guidelines to remember is better than trying to plan for every possibility. Simple rules to follow will also make sense because our brains won’t be working as well as usual; memory and decision-making skills will be limited. Here are key principles to follow, captured in the first letters of the word survive:
S: Slow Down
U: Use All Six Senses
R: Review Resources and Risks
V: Be Vigilant
I: Improvise
V: Vow to Live
E: Embrace the Situation
You are used to modern speed, and the earthquake means you need to slow down to 1850s speed. Things will take longer, information will arrive more slowly, travel will take more time. You will be frustrated and angry if you compare what is possible after the earthquake with what was possible before. Instead, save yourself grief by considering how long your great-great-grandparents might have allowed for something to happen. Follow their lead. Repeat, like a mantra, “Slow down.” It is the most important thing you can do to stay safe and survive.
People who work in dangerous occupations such as logging, policing, or firefighting are trained to stay aware of the situation they are in. An unexpected sound, a movement signaling danger, an out-of-place smell can all mean trouble: losing alertness can lead to injury or death. Develop this same level of situational awareness to stay safe while surrounded by many unfamiliar risks:
What do you see? What do you hear?
What do you smell?
What do you taste?
What do you feel?
And, finally, are you having a hunch, an intuitive insight, a gut feeling?
Everything your six senses tell you is important to be aware of. Stay tuned in.
Make and review an inventory of your resources and risks, which can include the following:
The skills and supplies available to you and each member of your group
The risks in your current situation, including the problems you need to solve as a group and the needs you must fill
Think together. After a catastrophic earthquake, no one will be thinking as clearly as they usually do. By reviewing as a group, you will be able to do the work of one person thinking alone in more normal times. Conduct frequent reviews of your situation, because things will change quickly in the hours and days after the earthquake.
After the earthquake, this massive invisible web of expertise that makes the twenty-first century work so well won’t be there—the people who make sure our water is safe to drink, our food OK to eat, buildings able to withstand shocks, roads and bridges safe to drive on. You need to be vigilant in everything you do—how you use information and make decisions. You can’t operate on assumptions that were perfectly reasonable before the earthquake. You need to carefully think through, with the help of others, the best course of action. It is certain that there will be unfounded rumors and assertively declared “truths” after the earthquake. Believing the wrong rumor or the wrong person can be dangerous. Be vigilant; don’t get carried away.
Most of us won’t have everything we need after the earthquake. What we do have, however, might be adaptable to meet many needs. For example, the reason duct tape is so valuable in an emergency is that it can be used for many different purposes:
Put it on a blister to stop further damage from occurring.
Tape it over a bandage to make it waterproof.
Use it to mend a tear in a tent.
Wrap it around your shoes to make them more waterproof.
Fold it on itself to create improvised rope or cord.
Use it to make a potholder to take a hot cooking pot off a campfire.
Adults are often so used to doing things in a certain way and using materials for a specific purpose that they have a hard time being innovative. Children, artists, inventors, and people who are often too poor to afford to purchase what they need can all be masterful in suggesting ways to use scarce supplies in new ways.
People who have survived events that experts thought would be fatal often insist that their decision to live was what made the difference. Decide you are going to live, act accordingly, and don’t give up.
After the Cascadia earthquake, you will find yourself on an “island” defined by blocked roads, downed bridges, and what is within a reasonable walking range. Your “island” might not have water around it, but it will be as isolated from other areas as actual islands are. This new world will include all the people who will be your community for a time, and what you all have will be the supplies available to all of you. It will take time before anything or anyone can arrive from elsewhere.
If you are caught somewhere with strangers, you’ll likely be amazed at how quickly connections develop. Be open to the surprises you are likely to find—the restaurant busboy who emerges as a strong and capable leader; the grandmother who has a magical ability to keep people calm; the homeless veteran whose knowledge of living rough gives everyone confidence that they can make it through. Everyone will have something to offer and something they need.
Embrace the situation. While many people will be worried about the safety of loved ones elsewhere, it is important to avoid dwelling on these worries. For now, this “island” is your situation, and the people around you are the ones you can count on for help, the ones you can offer love and support to. Be patient—the situation will change, but for the time being, embrace it.