San Andreas for Preppers: 12 Essential Survival Lessons from the Movie

I always like these "Essential Survival Lessons" articles. Thought I would share.

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Here are 12 things that interested me, as a prepper, about San Andreas. I’ll try really hard to be vague enough that I don’t spoil the movie.

1. People panic and behave badly. In every disaster movie, there’s always someone more concerned with his or her own skin than the skin of a loved one, and this is no exception. Life-threatening terror brings out the worst in many people. As shown in the movie, some first responders will bail to take care of their own families. The bottom line is, you can’t rely on others to save you. Also, it helps to have some knowledge of engineering and basic physics, too.

2. People panic and behave stupidly. During the panic of the aftermath of The Big One, people do the dumbest things. This is true of real life too, and part of the reason for this is cognitive dissonance. People are so complacent about the stability of their everyday lives that it is difficult for them to function when something horrible and out of the ordinary occurs. Having a mindset that plays through potential disasters ahead of time makes it far easier to accept it when something terrible happens, which in turn, makes it easier to act in a manner that will aid in survival instead of running around like a chicken without a head. (Check out How to Survive Anything in 3 Easy Steps for more on this.)

3. Drop, cover, and hold on. The seismologist guy repeated the same information over and over, but most of the time, people failed to listen. When huge chunks of cement are flying at you, running down the road is not always the best course of action. The very best thing you can do is get down under something big and stable and hold on tightly. According to the US Department of Labor, the quake itself doesn’t cause injuries, the aftermath of structural damage causes injuries: “Most earthquake-related injuries result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects as a result of the ground shaking, or people trying to move more than a few feet during the shaking.” Structural damage to buildings would be vast in a quake like the one depicted. (Here’s more information on potential structural damage.) PS: Your car is not a big, stable place to go to for cover. (source) Knowing what to expect in the event of an earthquake is very important. This is a great article about earthquake survival.

4. The ability to communicate is vital. In the aftermath of a major disaster, your cell phone is very unlikely to work. Partly because everyone else will be trying to use their phones at the same time, and partly because local towers may also have been affected by the disaster. If you live in (or are visiting) an earthquake prone area, a secondary communications device is essential. This article about an earthquake preparedness kit has some excellent suggestions. Remember that landlines often work when the internet and cell phones do not.

5. Also vital: basic first aid skills. Remember above, where I quoted how must injuries come about from the destruction of buildings? After the earthquake in Haiti, the CDC reported that the most common injuries were fractures/dislocations, wound infections, and head, face, and brain injuries. Doctors performed wound debridements, amputations, and treatment for orthopedic trauma from crushing injuries. You need to know how to remove debris that might cause further damage, immobilize an injured limb, stop bleeding, apply a tourniquet, and clean a wound at the very least. It also helps if you have some supplies on hand or know where to find them.

6. You should always have a plan for the family to meet. In the movie, the family has a meeting place planned. This is not something that should be left for the day of a horrible event. You should always have a plan for your family in the event that you can’t communicate. My family always sets up meeting places in case we get separated and my kids know to go there and wait. Actually, we did this from the time they were little and my oldest daughter got in the middle of a clothing rack to “surprise mommy” and I couldn’t find her.

7. You always need a backup plan. In the event that Plan A isn’t going to work, you need to have a Plan B. (And C and D and so on.) It’s really helpful if your family knows what Plan B is so that you are able to meet up and not hope to just randomly find one another. Again, this goes to thinking things through BEFORE a disaster occurs. You MUST be adaptable to survive.

8. When one disaster happens, others soon follow. This is a frequent truth of disasters. When one thing goes wrong, some other horrible event is often triggered by that. This was true in the movie, with things like looters, instability of structures which collapsed later, rifts in the roads, and oh yeah, a tsunami.

9. Don’t forget tsunamis. For the love of all things cute and fluffy, if you are anywhere near the coast and an earthquake happens, GO UP. Do not wait until you see the ocean draw outward or you see the gigantic wave approaching. You aren’t going to be able to outrun it, no matter how fit you are. Immediately seek the highest point around if an earthquake occurs when you are near the coast. We take this a step further when we visit the coast and map out the high points beforehand. I was gratified that my two San Francisco high points were the ones noted in the movie. There is also some good advice if you just happen to be out boating when a tsunami is approaching.

10. Don’t take the closest evacuation route, take the safest evacuation route.

11. Bring sensible shoes.

12. Gather supplies whenever you see them. While everyone else is panicking,

Communications, especially being able to hear them is extremely important during a disaster. Situational awareness is not a service the government is fond of providing. I always carry a little VX-8R radio in my back pack/SEK pack. Not only can I listen to all of the emergency/service/broadcast/most ham/world band/aircraft channels, but I can talk around the world on it. Almost every family has FRS/GMRS walkie talkies so I have those channels programmed into it too.

Because I spend a lot of time in the forests by myself, I also carry a Spot. It is satellite based, so should work in most local disasters and sends messages through both internet and mobile services to the receiving parties. Although messaging is limited, it will tell my friends where I am and if I am ok or need help.

Cool thread Info lurker Cheers!

I just wanted to chime in with this piece of info..

The advised drop and cover (in the OP) recommended for quakes, doesn't quite resonate with Me..read this link bout 'the triangle of life' and the recommended procedure advised in the link.This goes against the commonly held beliefs,but makes a lot of sense to Me.
www.snopes.com...

a reply to: EndOfDays77

LOL,

Depends on where you are at during a quake I guess. If I am outside the building already (smoke break) and it starts to shake, I am moving AWAY from the building into the parking lot as fast as I can.

That sounds sensible lol.

a reply to: infolurker

I'd like to add #13: If "The Rock" is around, stick with him"! Just kidding, but it does make a bit of sense for some people. If you're more of a follower, it's probably best to follow someone who knows what they're doing than to follow an idiot behind that lead you onto a bridge during an earthquake.

I also take issue with the "duck and cover" instructions. If I happened to be in LA and a big quake happened, I do not want to be ducking and covering underneath a high rise building that could collapse on top of me. Being buried alive is right up there at the top of my list of ways I don't want to die. I'd personally rather take my chances out in the open.

The sensible shoes idea is one that I think is really important. Being in SoCal, I practically live in my flip flops and sandals. I DO keep a pair of well broken in hiking shoes and socks in my car, but if I'm unable to get to my car (or my closet) easily, then I'd be struggling along in my flip-flops. That would definitely suck.

Thankfully, I can say that I have the other points pretty well covered. If you live in earthquake prone areas, I think it's also important to run practice drills (especially if you have children).

Thanks for posting this OP, it's a good topic for discussion brought about by the movie.

Or.

Move inland or out if states away from any fault line.

Probably the easiest way to go for the long run.

The movie was the biggest heap of dog poo. It was just as bad as the one about Killer Tomatoes.

So many really stupid things happening plus they through in every cliche from every disaster movie ever made.

It was so bad. Usually, I can laugh at these things, but there were just so many of them. I could not even watch it until the end.

P

a reply to: infolurker

Lol number 11 is funny and far out.

Bring sensible shoes.

We live on faultlines. They riddle the entire Smilkameen. The South Okanagan is the sunken land mass between two major san andreas faults that go North.

You know what. When people wake up, they don't wake up in safe areas. Wonder why. What are they meant to do, prey tell?

By the way preparing for disaster is not a lone wolf, looking after yourself deal. That doesnt win any prizes on the other side. Think about your community and how to help people, at least those of like minds because some may be a threat to the safety and well being of others and people are going to need to band up and protect each other. Even the elderly, even the handicapped, because otherwise you get sent to the back of the lineup.

Don't do anything that would make you fall like a stone through the frequency layers, ever.

And if you're near fault lines, work at feeding the poor, helping others, and praying, meditating and using the power of consciousness to heal them, to love earth, ask her, how can I help, Love Family, ask the Big Good Team of Love up there, how can I help? And send love and healing and awareness out to everyone. See all disasters from Fukushima, to volcanoe's, earthquakes and war, as null and void, mitigated. Join up, better in numbers, and see a 6.7 as a 2.3 earthquake or even lower.

We have more power than you can imagine, and have a Huge Power of Love behind us as we try to grow our baby wings into bigger ones.

And while you're seeking, if you're meant to move, you'll be guided to.

They've been pouring a lot of ritual sacrifice down fault lines and using haarp like technologies.

Pour Love down them.

I would say one of the main "preventive" measures is to get out of the big city. Small towns don't have the number of tall buildings that can fall on you, and escape routes out of the city are generally easier to reach.