Are You Hiding Under Your Desk Yet?
I’m not actually writing this blog posting right now. In fact, as this post, which I’ve written in advance and scheduled to post at exactly 10 a.m., is being published, I’m hiding under my desk and holding on for dear life! Because it’s time for the The Great British Columbia Shake Out – the biggest earthquake drill in the history of Canada!
You may recall I blogged about this a few weeks ago. Did I actually finish assembling my earthquake preparedness kit? Well, no, actually. Because I suck and thus will be forced to ration my limited supply of bottled water and energy bars that I tossed in a box in my storage closest, cursing my unpreparedness, when the Big One hits. But at least I’m hiding under my desk right now and thus will know what to do should a real earthquake happen and thus will survive the quake long enough to curse my unpreparedness. Plus, I bet my coworkers are asking me what the hell I’m doing right now and that’s always fun.
I’ll take a photo of me hiding under my desk and post it here later. For the greater good. You’re welcome.
Updated:
Related articles
- Great British Columbia Shakeout planned for Jan. 26 (theprovince.com)
- B.C. residents get ready to shake in earthquake simulation (globaltvbc.com)
- British Columbians get ready to duck and cover (theglobeandmail.com)
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Tags: BC, Canada, Earthquake, Earthquake preparedness, Emergency management, events, Shake Out BC, Vancouver
Wasn’t it thrilling and exciting?
I was talking to my husband this morning about our lack of emergency supplies at home. I pointed out that we do have a camping stove and some dried camp food we could cook up, but that it wouldn’t do us much good without water. He suggested rehydrating the packs of pasta and rice with gin instead. So, if there’s an earthquake, feel free to come to our place for an earth-shaking party!
Did you take any photos while you were under your desk for two minutes? I mean, you had you iPhone with you (at least, that’s what I read on The Twitter).
No, I was checking my email.
I’m a floor warden, so I had to go to a debriefing session this morning. They asked us if we’d seen “good participation rates” in our area. I’m like, I don’t know, I was under my desk…
I learned lots about how awesome our building is, though. It was designed to withstand a 10.5 earthquake, all the ceilings and light fixtures are independently suspended from the main building structure with chains, all the windows are safety glass, the gas lines shut off instantly if they sense vibrations, the emergency lighting doesn’t even require the emergency generator to kick in, etc. But we need to deal with chemical safety in the lab areas, avoid some of the internal glass, and try not to even think about the cyclotron over the road.
Hey I hear hiding under your desk is great protection from nuclear bombs, too.
I thought only hiding in a fridge protected you from nuclear explosions?
@Beth: oh my gosh, that’s right! Where’s my fridge? Everyone should have a nuclear-bomb shelter fridge.