IT Support Portland professionals are highly skilled in cybersecurity and battling with black hat hackers. However, your profession is way too far from being an expert in dealing with an earthquake. And the fact is, no one is actually exempted from experiencing an earthquake. May you be in your own home or vacationing somewhere, an earthquake can happen any minute. But of course, there will be signs and symptoms, and the necessary faction of the government will make an announcement of the possible natural disaster. But whatever the case, you need always to be prepared to deal with an earthquake. It may not happen soon, but it could happen in the future. So it is best to know about how to protect yourself and your family from an earthquake. And share your knowledge with your whole family, especially your children, so that they will pass on the information to other family members. As an IT Support Portland professional, it is your duty to not only protect your clients against black hat hackers. But you also have a greater responsibility to shelter your family against a natural disaster like an earthquake.
Determine the home hazards
You must build your home with the highest quality of materials. It may be quite expensive, but the expenses are definitely worth it. And in your home, you must make sure to double-check all the hazards and take care of them.
All shelves must be securely attached or fastened to the wall with heavy-duty adhesives or nailed to the wall, regardless of size or length.
Stylish home decor is great, but ensure that you position heavy or big objects on the lower portions of the shelves in order to avoid being hit by the large items when an earthquake hits and challenges your position as an IT Support Portland professional.
Make sure that all light fixtures on your ceiling are properly braced and secure, so when an earthquake hits, your ceiling fixtures will not off fall and hit your head.
Secure the breakable shelf decor inside unbreakable glass doors or closed cabinets that have locks or latches.
Keep your hanging pictures, mirrors, and portraits away from your living room couch, bed, and all places in your home where anyone from your family normally sits.
Always check for damaged or faulty electrical wiring in your house. Get an electrician to do this part to ensure professionalism. This is an obvious fire hazard, but it is an earthquake hazard as well.
Securely bolt your water heater into your floor, and strap it properly to your wall. So when an earthquake strikes, you can worry less about your water heater and concentrate on keeping your family safe.
Allocate closed cabinets for your flammable products at home, insect pesticides, and weed killers. Lock them up and put them on the shelves at the bottom.
Identify all secure areas inside the house and outside.
As an IT Support Portland professional, you know how to secure networks, systems, cloud, and servers. But things are way too different when it comes to an earthquake. So to keep your family safe if this natural disaster ever visits your neighborhood, then you need to identify what areas in your whole property are secure to stay in or hide in.
Check if any of your furniture is heavy enough to hide under and keep you safe from falling objects.
Find out if you can install or if you already have a secure and sturdy inside wall where you can stay to wait for the shakes to stop or wait for the rescue to come.
Determine if there are shelters in your neighborhood where you can bring your family and stay for the whole duration of the earthquake.
Spot electrical posts, wiring above and beneath, telephone poles, and other areas where there is a risk of electrocution in case of an earthquake.
Use your skills as an IT Support Portland professional to find out the structure of your community and see where are the safest places to be in case of an earthquake.
Earthquake education and awareness for the whole family
Never underestimate the power of education regarding an earthquake. Research well into the nature of an earthquake, and ensure that you have all the right information, contact numbers, and local emergency places for an earthquake rescue and place to stay. Your expertise in IT and computer and internet is quite helpful in this part. Inform your whole family about the earthquake data and what to do in case this disaster hits your community. And continue to educate yourself and your family as the time passes since new information can come out that will help you save yourself and your family.
Prepare an earthquake supply kit.
It is best always to be prepared with all the necessary items that will keep you alive and help you survive an earthquake. So make sure to have all these items handy all the time, in your home, and if you can, prepare them in your office as an IT Support Portland.
Flashlights and a considerable quantity of batteries
Battery operated high-quality radios with a lot of batteries.
More than one first aid kit
Bottled water
Canned goods and biscuits
Knife
Medicines
Cash, debit card, and credit card
Quality shoes
Extra clothes and underwear
Portable stoves
Portable kitchen utensils, pots, and pans
Create a communication plan during an emergency
Even in this day and age, with technology at its peak and with so many communication gadgets, it may still be hard to keep communication activities in an earthquake. So for your own safety, make sure that you establish a good plan for communication in times of a natural disaster. Cell phones may not work, but you can always use a walkie talkie, so keep them handy. Go old school with your communication strategy, and make sure that you spread awareness of your communication plans with your whole family, relatives, as well as your fellow IT Support Portland professionals.
