Reminder of Why We Have Earthquake Drills

So, one day after the largest earthquake drill in California history, I get a reminder of why we have earthquake drills. I was sitting here just after 3:00AM Pacific Time writing the next entry for this blog when I was startled by a loud rumbling that sounded like someone had opened the sliding door in my living room. I grab my gun and went to investigate with nothing to be found.

Moments later, my sister Marlene, who lives close by and was up working, IM's me "did you feel it?". "Was that what that was, I thought someone was breaking in" I told her. Then I go to the "Recent Earthquakes in California and Nevada" information page and there it was a M3.5 earthquake. I am only 24 miles Southeast from the epicenter and it seems to have been felt in a wide area for a minor quake, however, there was no mention of it over police and fire channels.
Just hope it wasn't a foreshock! :-O

If you live in earthquake country, then the following audio files are samples of what you may hear over your local fire department frequencies after an earthquake has occurred:

• LACOFD Earthquake Alert (:29sec, 58K)
  Anytime a moderate to major earthquake strikes, the Los Angeles County Fire department puts out a countywide broadcast alerting all stations that an earthquake has occurred in the region.

• LACOFD Earthquake Intensity Report (5min:17sec, 627K)
  Anytime a moderate to major earthquake strikes, the Los Angeles County Fire department puts out a countywide broadcast alerting all stations that an earthquake has occurred in the area. Following an alert, an "intensity report" is taken from Battalion Chief in the field from across the county advising how strong the earthquake was felt and any damage in that particular area.

In closing, for many scanner enthusiasts like myself, a police scanner is one of the most valuable tools we can have nearby when disaster strikes! Why? Because critical and timely information is key in the aftermath of any major emergency, disaster, or other "large-scale" event.

From personal experience, the only sure way to get timely up-to-date and critical information after a disaster is by monitoring a police scanner. Television and radio broadcast information is not a viable option as information via those sources is often delayed, sketchy, or unconfirmed at best. So have your scanner close by as it will come in handy when disaster strikes!

Well, that's for this post - enjoy. Please subscribe to my blog and let me know what you think about this post. Till next time...stay safe and happy scanning!

- RF
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