Hi Wolfepack - I live in Bellevue (Enatai) near the intersection of I90 and I405, and when getting a certificate in emergency management we studied the anticipated Seattle response after an earthquake - there's lots of stuff you can access to tell you about the terrain around you and what you can expect after a shake. Instead of your GHB, I recommend you focus first on your immediate environment - work and home.

You say you work in downtown Seattle, but that actually encompasses alot of varied terrain with a variety of survivability expectations - in the worst parts of downtown, liquefaction will take place, roads will collapse, gas and power lines will rupture, and your ability to exit your place of work could be hampered. Some structures can be expected to fully or partially collapse around you. Other parts of downtown could be more geologically stable, but with lots of falling windows and building parts to deal with. I don't know where you are located specifically. So, long story short, hang onto your hardhat, rather than leaving it at work - you may need it somewhere else.

Personally, if you work in an EQ-unsafe location, such as below 2nd Avenue in the Pioneer Square area, sing your death song, and praise Allah if you actually survive. Then run away, or get to work helping others as best you can. Instead of starting for home right away, ask yourself if you can bug in at work or in another nearby location, and prepare and supply yourself for that eventuality. Lynnwood is indeed a long way from downtown Seattle, in EQ terms. I work in Redmond, 7 miles over geologically stable ground from home, and in my car is a first aid bag with bulk medical supplies - tape, gloves, kerlix, nothing smaller than a 4x4 - to immediately assist 100 people. That will probably be 1/100th of the people who need it in my immediate area. Which is why I'm working on my employer to cache sufficient supplies to aid the people they employ, many of whom could be major or minor casualties after an EQ strikes. Before you prepare to walk home to Lynnwood, have you asked yourself, are there enough people I know, that I care about, that I will have a major issue walking away from them, in order to get home right away?

On sheltering - rain or shine, don't depend on the city or anyone opening official shelters, unless there is enough cold or rain such that people will be dying that first night. If so, there will be shelters in the most stable structures - Seattle Center, community centers throughout the city, some of the newer construction that can survive a serious shake. People will also be camped out in their yards, or camped together with neighbors in neighborhood parks. I wouldn't hesitate to fall in with some of these folks, as they will have family with them, and there is some personal safety in numbers. Some will also be injured, and could use your assistance if you can give any.

About the Seattle bridge situation - the good news is that in all except the very worst shakes, the smaller bridges will survive, although they may not be opened right away if at all. The predominant design of the smaller neighborhood bridges (Ballard, Fremont, University, Montlake Cut) is a basic bascule, and unless they are open to water traffic right when the EQ happens (unlikely), the spans will survive, but can also be shaken out of alignment, stopping the counterweight from moving until inspected or repaired. Meantime though, the bridge should be in the down position, and aligned more or less with the roadway, meaning open to foot traffic, possibly to emergency vehicle traffic, and after inspection to general vehicle traffic, if there is actually someplace for vehicles to go - with houses collapsed into roadways, the immediate issue is getting responders out of their fire houses (many of which have not yet been retrofitted) and begin to service the community. But SDOT will be working to clear roadways. Expect authorities to at least open a "life line" route between North and Central Seattle (e.g. UW Medical Center to Harborview ER) for emergency traffic only, but don't depend on Metro or Sound Transit to run their buses on it, not right away. The larger bridges are fixed spans, such as the one that carries I5 traffic, or Highway 99 (Aurora Bridge) - those may not fare so well, depending on the magnitude of the shake. I don't recommend swimming any of these waterways - you can probably cross somewhere, or some boat owner *might* offer you a ride across (but don't count on it). Anyway, some of the local bridge plan is recounted at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bridgeinfo.htm.

If you're headed for Lynnwood, I propose walking up Westlake Avenue from downtown Seattle, crossing the cut at the Fremont Bridge, and heading north on 3rd Ave NW, all the way North to Lynnwood. Its a long hike, but you avoid most of the hills on this route.

Last, a bit of positive news - there's always an epicenter, and if you can survive, you can walk out of the EQ impact zone. Once you get far enough from the epicenter, damage is much reduced, people are mostly uninjured, transportation can persist, and you might even be able to catch your usual bus on its route to take you all the way home. That is, if the bus drivers haven't abandoned their buses to head home to check on their loved ones. Frankly I'm not familiar with Metro or Sound Transit's emergency plans.