In Los Angeles, possible dangers such as earthquakes, fires and flash floods lurk in the back of day to day life. Increasingly high temperatures and a decreasing amount of precipitation supports the fact that since the late 1900s, according to the California Air Resources Board, the total area burned by wildfires in California has increased. In the past five years alone, more than half of California’s largest fires in history have blazed through the Golden State. In addition to these fires, earthquakes are also an imposing threat. Although most of them are small, California averages around 500 earthquakes yearly. In Los Angeles, earthquakes are frequent due to the city’s location, residing on more than twenty fault lines, including the San Andreas Fault, Palos Verdes Fault, Santa Monica Fault, Hollywood Fault, San Gabriel Fault and the Sierra Madre Fault line. Another threat, although infrequent, that looms in Los Angeles is a flash flood. They are especially dangerous because according to The New Republic, the sewers and storm drains in LA are not built to withstand heavy rainfall, especially in more urbanized areas.
“We had some things kind of ready to go, but we weren’t as prepared as we will be for next time,” said LACES Math Teacher Mr. Constantinos Tzaferis.
On January 8th, one LACES teacher, Mr. Constantinos Tzaferis, who evacuated from the Hollywood Hills Sunset Fire, was in a case where he had to quickly pack an evacuation bag.
In the short time he and his family had to pack, they prioritized personal items and old pictures that they didn’t have digitized, as well as clothes and important documents. Besides those things, he found water, food, medicine to be the most important items when packing.
“Those are the three, because you never know where you’re going to be staying when you evacuate right?” said Tzaferis.
Another teacher, Mr. Jackson, evacuated from his Pasadena home away from the Eaton Fire. Unlike Tzaferis, Jackson had the time to pre-pack, already sorting his to-go bag. When he first got home from work, he packed a bag of important documents, clothes, and toiletries, as well as some first aid supplies. By the time he had to evacuate, he was already as prepared as he could be.
There is no surefire way of knowing if and when disaster will strike, and while one cannot be completely prepared, a premade evacuation plan and to-go kit will help the process go smoothly and without excess stress. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Organization, a proper evacuation plan for any disaster should include:
- Information or maps showing exits and places to avoid
- Emergency contacts
- Lists of hotels, possible houses to stay, or cities nearby
Besides a plan, it’s best to have a to-go bag ready in the case of emergency, one that contains items that protect your safety:
- Water
- Non-perishable food
- Flashlights
- Power Banks
- Chargers and batteries
- Masks
- Whistles
However some things can’t be stored away that you may want in case of evacuation, things including more personal or home documents and irreplaceable things.
- Documents and information regarding finance
- Pictures that aren’t digitized
- Sentimental items such as clothes, books, or childhood objects
That being said, it’s also important to travel relatively light to save time and energy, so it’s best to be particular about what you need and to have a plan made out in advance. If a disaster has already started, there are very few things that one can do to stop it, and the best thing to do is to be prepared so you can exit safely and quickly, because the most important thing is the lives of you and the people around you.
