What special considerations are there in planning for a community of about 100 people in earthquake country?

Move to non-earthquake country?

Or at least pick an earthquake country that is well equipped to deal with them and has reasonably strong building codes. I would pick San Francisco over Pakistan, for instance.

OK, jokes aside, I have no experience with earthquakes. But I wouldn't think the preps for them would be a whole lot different than for other disasters. The things that do come to mind are: (1) There may be major disruption to roads and other transportation arteries. (2) Infrastructure (fresh water, sewage, electricity, etc.) may be severley affected for a significant length of time. (3) You have to deal with potential long-term instability of structures around you - even once the initial earthquake has passed, you are still in danger of things collapsing around you.

How you prep for this, I don't know. But the first step would be to become aware of what you might have to deal with.

actual building construction.. down here most homes are single family single story of concrete block, hip roof with hurricane straps to a poured solid lintel, plywood roof with shingles or ceramic tile...naturally a collapsing danger, so would need a variety of heavier duty rescue tools... heavy pry bars, Halligan tools, portable chop saws with concrete and steel capabilities and chainsaws, chains

physical location in relation to being flooded

gas line leakage.... clearly identified localized shut off

water/sewage line.... alternate source

power interruption... alternate source

choke points like bridges, underpasses that could limit access to emergency medical care

age and physical ability of citizens... skill set of citizens

provisions to cook, shower, toilet for those not prepared

shelter from the heat and direct Sunlight

looting

1) access to clean water
2) way to dispose of water once 'processed.'
3) way to dispose of the dead



Don't address those and you're asking for an epidemic.

Two things popped into my head:

1) Communications: assume phones (cell & landline) are out: how far away is everyone? Shouting distance? What about radios? What kind, what freqs to use? etc. etc. etc. Someone might to call the community to help get someone who is trapped---they need a way to alert everyone.

2) A roster of who and how many and ages live where. Our HOA publishes a list of who lives where and kids and ages in each home. In an earthquake aftermath, you might want to do a headcount and know who is OK, and who is missing, and possibly trapped. To do that, you need to know (at least on a general basis) who lives in the community.

By far the most important preparation for living in an area subject to earthquakes is to look carefully at the buildings you will occupy. The best kit in the world won't do you a bit of good if you are killed when the building collapses on top of you! Select structures that were built to modern earthquake codes. Failing that, look into a seismic retrofit of an existing structure. Living/working in an earthquake resistant structure is absolutely the most important first line of defense in earthquake country!

By the same token, try to avoid locations subject to tsunami innundation. If you must locate in an area that might be flooded by a tsunami, plan and practice your evacuation route to high ground.

Beyond that, for the most part the same principles apply as for any major disaster. You want to be self sufficient for at least one week (several weeks is better) with food, water, first aid supplies, necessary medications, etc. Even after initial help reaches you, expect that transporation routes, power, natural gas, etc may be disruped for months.

A few additions to your kit specific for earthquakes might be in order. Expect that some structures will collapse, and people will need to be rescued. A powerfull hydralic jack would be a valuable tool, as would cribbing material, axes, saws, etc. Fire fighting gear might also come in handy. While your building may not fall down on you, it might be so badly damaged as to be uninhabitable after a quake. Tarps and tents to rig a shelter could be valuable.

Edit: Also find out about emergency plans for the larger community around you. Learn what outside resources might be available, and how to access them. Get involved with community volunteer groups (CERT, Red Cross, volunteer Fire Dept, volunteer SAR, etc). You will learn a lot that will help you, and be better able to help those around you.

DISCLAIMER: I have NO Earthquake experience!

I have noted one area that prople don't usually think about in both Tornado and Earthquake areas. The easiest way to provide the 4 Survival needs (shelter, water, food, heat) is to acquire a camper that is kept stocked to go. What few think about is the proximity that such a resource(s) are kept in relation to one's home. Tornado's, like Earthquakes, occur along mostly known paths or fault lines. Yes tornado's do cover new paths occasionly just as unknown fault lines make themselves known. Store your supplies in a type of structure away from your home, in case it collapsed. For eq country, use a lightly built structure that if it collapsed, would not destroy your supplies and which said debris could be cleared from your supplies to make them accessible.

The next problem is figuring out where is available to store supplies that is close enough to access but far enough away to escape debris from your home. This is a difficult problem in Tornado country and MAY be an impossible goal to achieve in EQ country.

wildman, you raise a very good point. In the event of an earthquake, your home may collapse. Or, the quake may break a nat gas line, and your home may burn down. Or, lots of other things could happen. It is a good idea to have at least some of your supplies stashed separately from your house. This will increase the odds that you have your kit after disaster strikes. Much of the gear and supplies I would need after an earthquake is in my garage. If my house was destroyed, it might be unusable or inaccessable. For that reason, I've made it a point to put some stuff in the utility shed out in my back yard. If my house (and all it's contents) were totally destroyed, I would still have at least some critical items available from my shed.

Similar thinking could apply to other types of disasters. For example, if you live in a flood prone area, you might not want to put all your gear in the basement, but rather have some of it in the attic.