Increase personal safety and reduce your risk of lightning injury by following these essential tips.

Before the storm

• Stay alert and listen carefully for the first signs of lightning or thunder. Remember, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”
• Seek shelter: Lightning often strikes before the rain begins, so don’t wait for the rain to start before leaving.

If you are outdoors

• Immediately leave elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, or peaks.
• Never lie flat on the ground.
• Never shelter under an isolated tree.
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water.
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity like wire fences, power lines, and windmills.

If you are indoors

• Avoid water and stay away from doors and windows.
• Do not use landline telephones or headsets.
• Turn off, unplug, and stay away from appliances, computers, power tools, and television sets as lightning may strike exterior electric and phone lines and generate shocks to inside equipment.

After the storm

• Don’t resume activities until at least 30 minutes after the last lightning strike or thunderclap.
• Use first aid procedures and call 911 immediately if anyone is injured.
• Lightning victims do not carry an electrical charge, so it is safe to administer medical treatment.

On International ShakeOut Day, you can join others worldwide and practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” The ShakeOut takes place once a year on the third Thursday of October.

Endorsed by emergency officials and first responders, the safe response to an earthquake is to:

• DROP where you are, onto your hands and knees. This position protects you from being knocked down and allows you to stay low and crawl to shelter if nearby.
• COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand.
  • If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter.
  • If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows).
  • Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.
• HOLD ON until the shaking stops.
  • Under shelter: hold on to it with one hand; be ready to move with your shelter if it shifts.
  • No shelter: hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

To take part in the ShakeOut, register for free at www.ShakeOut.org. Once registered, you will receive regular information on planning your drill and becoming better prepared for earthquakes and other disasters.

For resources and more information regarding the Great ShakeOut, visit www.ShakeOut.org.

The Southern California Earthquake Center, NEHRP Earthquake Consortia and States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and dozens of other partners coordinate the Great ShakeOut.

Why does it matter?

Sandbags can be useful in redirecting stormwater, and debris flows away from your home. But be sure that the sandbags are properly filled and maintained.

What do I need to know?

• There are limits to what sandbags can do: sandbags will not seal out water.
• Sandbags deteriorate when exposed to continued wetting and drying for several months.
• If bags are placed too early, they may not be effective when needed.
• Sandbags are for small water flow protection: up to two feet. Protection from larger flow requires a more permanent flood prevention system.
• The filing and placing of sandbags is strenuous work and requires time and planning.

Where do I start?

• When lifting sandbags, use your knees and not your back.
• Wear gloves to protect your hands.
• Fill sandbags one-half full. Use sand if readily available, otherwise use soil.
• Fold the top of the sandbag down and rest the bag on its folded top.
• Do not tie the sandbag closed as untied bags form a tighter seal when stacked among other bags.
• Take care in stacking the sandbags.
• Lay a plastic sheet between the bags and the building to control the flow and prevent water from seeping into sliding glass doors.
• Limit sandbag placement to three layers unless you use a building as a backing or sandbags are placed in a pyramid.
• Tamp each sandbag into place, completing each layer before starting a new layer.
• Clear a path between buildings for debris flow.
• Consult with your local environmental protection department before disposing of used sandbags. Sandbags that are exposed to contaminated floodwaters may pose an environmental hazard and require special handling.

More Resources

• FEMA. Flood Response for CERTs.

Why does it matter?

Having a source of water at your home provides you and firefighters a way to help protect your home if it’s threatened by a wildfire or already on fire. In some areas, water may not be readily accessible, so having a source of stored water can be critical.

What do I need to know?

Identify a means of on-site water, such as those listed below:

• Community water/hydrant system
• Drafting site on a lake
• Swimming pool
• Cooperative emergency storage tank with neighbors

Where do I start?

• Determine where and how water can be accessed or stored on your property, and how water can be collected (ex: rainwater catch system, on-site storage tanks)
• Plan for how water will be pumped or delivered, planning for delivery without electricity
• Consider a gasoline-powered portable pump to deliver the water
• Mark your water supply, so it is readily visible for firefighters if you are not present