SoCal Quake Jolts Complacent Californians Toward Preparedness

BURLINGAME (KPIX) — The Southern California earthquake is jolting Bay Area residents to get prepared for the big one.

“Everyone procrastinates until there’s a disaster and then they call,” said Jeff Tateosian, owner of Earth Shakes disaster supply store in Burlingame.

Tateosian said his website received heavy traffic in the hours following Thursday’s Ridgecrest earthquake.

Not everyone is on board with being prepared.

“We’re so immune to it in a way that we don’t think about it too much, I guess,” Daniel Wong said. But the San Francisco resident adds he’s going to look into getting an earthquake kit.

A study from the Public Policy Institute in 2014 showed half of Californians had earthquake kits. That means about 19 million people were not prepared.

Tateosian sells pre-made kits which come complete with food and water and other supplies.

The USGS has more tips at: http://earthquakecountry.org/booklets