BUILDING CODES PART OF EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS

Earthquakes around the world recently have shown the stark variation in building codes and the associated degree of damage in different countries. Building codes are a very significant aspect of Earthquake Preparedness although clearly not all countries put the same emphasis on them.

In the United States we have much stricter building codes than do some other countries that are also prone to earthquakes.

The rationale behind that is to minimize structural damage, but tougher codes also go hand in hand with non-structural seismic mitigation, which is one of the best ways to prevent a business from being knocked out of action after an earthquake.

Building Code

The California Building Code, for example, talks in part about non-structural items that require proper bracing.

Title 24 of the code states that movable items such as storage racks that are more than five feet tall must be seismically braced.
Permanent floor-supported items like cabinets and bookcases, including their contents, that are more than six feet in height should be restrained.

All equipment weighing more than 400 lbs and greater than four feet tall needs to be properly braced for lateral loads as recommended by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Seismic Mitigation

The first step to earthquake safety or earthquake preparedness is to identify potential hazards around the home or office and secure them.

Using the California Building Code as a guide, you will soon start to realize just how many items around your premises could be potentially hazardous if left unsecured.

The floor fasteners, countertop fasteners, data center seismic mitigation and laboratory fastening systems and many other will help you make your business a much safer place for you and your employees.

You can secure desktop computers and other electronics with computer monitor fastening kits, earthquake cabinet latches will stop doors from flying open in an earthquake, while table docking systems will keep tables and work stations from being dislodged from their positions in labs and other office space.

Securing your space plays a huge role in reducing the risk of your employees being injured by falling items.

Earthquake Preparedness Kits

The majority of our previous articles have focused on earthquake preparedness and why it should be a priority for businesses in earthquake zones, but something we haven’t discussed in detail is emergency kits.

Since Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast in 2005, the message from federal and state agencies has been that we all need to be self-sufficient for at least three days after any emergency such as a major earthquake.

The reason for that is because first responders may not be able to get to us within the first 72 hours depending of course on the severity of the emergency.

If you’re located in an active seismic zone then it makes even more sense to have emergency kits on hand and to store them where you spend most of your time i.e. home, office and car.

Okay, so you understand the home and office concept, but why the car too? The answer is because you never know where you will be when an earthquake strikes and if you’re on the road when it happens you could find yourself stranded for a prolonged period of time.

That’s why we have developed a variety of disaster kits for any situation.

Emergency Kits

The kits are designed to get you through at least 72 hours by providing disaster supplies that will help you survive.

There are individual survival kits, two-person kits and four-person kits, as well as 10 and 20 person kits for businesses and even pet evacuation kits because Fluffy and Fido are often as much a part of a family as a loved one.

All the basic essentials as recommended by the American Red Cross, plus added extras, are in every one of our kits. The food and water is approved by the US Coast Guard and has a five-year shelf life, there are first aid kits, safety lightsticks, emergency blankets, ponchos, dust masks, nitrile gloves and more.

Inside each kit there is a reminder card that you can mail to us so that six months prior to the expiration date of the food and water we will hit you up with a reminder that they need replacing.

Earthquake Preparedness at Work

As suggested above, if you own and operate a business in an earthquake zone it really behooves you to make sure that you and your employees are prepared for the possibility of an earthquake, and apart from securing all of your furniture and equipment, that means having survival kits on hand.

Being prepared is your best defense against earthquakes.

New Earthquake Preparedness Program Securing Business Completely

The earthquake preparedness experts from Quake Hold Industrial introduced special fastening equipment that will guarantee safety to the total business set-up.

The earthquake preparedness experts of Quake Hold Industrial have pioneered a state-of-the-art seismic fastening program for application in offices, data centers, labs and warehouses. Quake Hold Industrial has launched a wide variety of earthquake preparedness programs, so that each and every people can find exactly what they need in a way to protect their home and business from the hazards of earthquake.

The Earthquake Preparedness team from Quake Hold Industrial stated that what puts their fastening system head and shoulders above anything else is that it features flexible nylon straps. But what’s special about that? Well, flexible straps enable tall and top-heavy equipment or furniture to sway back and forth during an earthquake without crashing to the floor. The straps also act as shock absorbers to some degree as they can absorb some of the energy from a quake.

If, on the other hand, equipment or items of furniture are braced with metal brackets they could be ripped from the wall during shaking because metal is rigid and has no give in it, effectively defeating the purpose of securing the item in the first place. Therefore this special earthquake preparedness program will secure each and every furniture that can be a potential cause of injury during earthquakes.

Another unique feature as described by the earthquake preparedness team from Quake Hold Industrial is the Thumb Lock design in their seismic mitigation systems. This system consists of buckles and tear-proof locking straps with pre-cut holes.

The buckles attach to the item to be secured and to the surface using extra strength 3M adhesive and the straps lock in place inside the buckles.

The buckles can be moved and locked in either direction on the strap, providing unlimited adjustments for securing unusual sizes and shapes. The United States Navy has been using this system for years to secure valuable equipment on its fleet of vessels. The constant pitching and yawing of a ship is not dissimilar to the affects of an earthquake and can cause items to fly off shelves or topple over if not secured. Hence, the new earthquake preparedness program introduced by Quake Hold Industrial should ensure complete security to both home and business.

EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS NEEDED IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST

A trip to Washington State last month was a real eye-opener. What really jumped out at us was how much work still needs to be done on getting the earthquake preparedness message to people in the Pacific Northwest.

Amazingly, even though the area from Seattle south to Vancouver sits adjacent to the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a seismically active region, very few people there have done anything about being prepared. The people living there have not yet understood the value of earthquake preparedness.

And given that damage estimates were put as high as $4 billion from the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually earthquake in February 2001, we were astonished to find that folks in the Pacific Northwest have become rather blasé about the possibility of another big shaker rocking their part of the world. It is always said that precaution is better than cure hence people living in this zone should be educated about earthquake preparedness.

They seem to think that California is the only part of the West Coast where earthquakes pose a threat, yet the reality is that western Washington gets about a thousand earthquakes every year. Therefore, if your business is located in that part of the state, make sure you discuss about your earthquake safety with an earthquake preparedness specialist.

While not every temblor is going to be severe enough to cause extensive damage, the problem is that we just don’t know when the next big one will strike, so a word to the wise is be prepared because if you’re not, your business may not survive a big earthquake. So to protect the business and the employees from potential hazards of earthquake have an expert earthquake preparedness team organize and secure your home and office.

Unsecured tall, top-heavy pieces of equipment can easily topple over and crash to the floor, lab equipment can smash and data can be lost forever. Any one of these things can be a major setback for your business, but when combined they can put you out of business altogether.

The bottom line is that seismic activity is not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest, but the good news is that damage to or loss of equipment can be avoided by undertaking a non-structural seismic mitigation program. Contact an earthquake preparedness expert today to eliminate the unnecessary hazards.