Strange but important.

[Skiploder]

What do I do with Monty in the case of an earthquake? I live in California, and with the dry weather we've been having were bound for a big earthquake soon. What do I do with Monty in the case of a large earthquake? If you've never been in an earthquake, they're pretty crazy. Big ones can knock things off shelves and even knock over refrigerators. They are almost always followed by aftershocks, also known as more earthquakes. If we had a big enough one, it could seriously injure her. Do I grab her and put her in a small box? Any answers will help!!

As far as fresh water and food we have an emergency supply.

One of my biggest concerns is that we have very tall trees outside my house, that a big earthquake could very well knock over. I keep a rubber made tub next to her tank for when I give it a thorough cleaning, so I'm sure that would work.

Luckily we don't tend to have many earthquakes in cold weather. But I will order some in case of a power outage due to one. I live in Gilroy, California. We got hit pretty hard by the 1989 earthquake that rocked the bay.

That's not at all true. Earthquakes happen more often during months with more rainfall and warmer weather.

Ah, my humblest apologies. Apparently my reading comprehension skills are not up to snuff. I'm so gosh darned thick I read your posts and not only thought you made numerous references to weather being a factor but also very quickly defended your assertions. Obviously, I was grossly mistaken. A thousand pardons. Thanks for getting me back on track.

As a way of recompense can I perhaps assuage your fears about trees? Maybe I can provide you some piece of mind?

What a tree experiences in an earthquake is the direct effect of the seismic wave passing through it. This is generally less of a force on a tree than moderate wind conditions.

Liquefaction is, of course, an exception. However the liquefaction potential for most of Gilroy is low.

Also, damage during Loma Prieta was relatively mild in Gilroy. There were more red tagged building in Sunnyvale and Mountain View and Los Gatos was much harder hit than Gilroy. How do I know? I was working in Santa Cruz at the time and we did much of the clean up of red tagged structures and transportation facilities in the South Bay. I was assigned to Watsonville (which was obliterated) and Gilroy (which was not) along with the Highway 152 corridor.

In other words, falling trees are more of a risk in high winds than in an earthquake...and the soils in Gilroy are generally NOT susceptible to liquefaction.