A whole lot of shaking will be going on

As you read these words, the continent of Africa is being ripped apart. In spite of what you might have seen on YouTube, that statement is true. Like a planetary zipper, a gaping wound is opening from northern Ethiopia south through Kenya, Tanzania and parts south. Volcanic ash that accumulated in the scar over a million years, a desolate place called Olduvai Gorge, gave anthropologists the first fossils of our human ancestors.

A similar gorge emerges from the northern Atlantic Ocean and extends through present day Iceland.

Planet Earth is younger in geological terms than we imagine. And the powerful forces of her growing are sometimes a bit boggling to imagine. Those same awesome growing pains are manifest 60 miles off our coast here in Washington state. Slowly, inexorably new Earth is being born in the deep ocean, only to be pushed east toward our coast where it smashes into the plate of North America.

While the meeting has been gentle, or appeared so for the last 300 years, geologists, based on what they see in 10,000 years of mud-core evidence, are warning that a whole lot of shaking is likely to spring from where our plate and this new Earth meet in the not too distant future.

How much shaking?

That depends on several factors, but expect three to several more sustained minutes of rough shaking that could go on and on; only to be followed by subsequent aftershocks that could be nearly as violent and continue for months or years.

Not a rosy picture, I admit, but earthquakes are a bit like forest fires. The destruction path of an earthquake is impossible to predict. Some places and structures will be severely damaged, while directly adjacent structures will unexplainably seem completely untouched.

What is predictable is that our community will be incredibly challenged. The universal statement among the survivors will be, “What do we do now?” La Conner most likely will be without electricity. More shockingly, if the shaking is prolonged, La Conner’s water supply will also be cut. That means both water and sewer. For how long? That depends on how long the repairs take. Digging up pipe takes more time and more labor than patching power lines.

The key to surviving a major earthquake is to prepare for the worst ahead of time. We’ve all seen, and ignored, the advice to prepare by setting aside non-perishable food and safe water. When the shaking stops it’s really too late. Even minimal preparation ahead of an earthquake can make a huge difference in how well you survive.

Because of what we see in the news of earthquake danger, too little attention is paid to making our homes and offices more shake proof. Our house is a great example. I am a writer who has been fortunate enough to travel the world and collect souvenirs of my adventures. That means nick-nacks on every horizontal surface.

My wife always asks, “If the dog can knock it on the floor, what do you think an earthquake will do?” Good question. Our bookcases are screwed to the wall studs so they won’t fall. Our camp stove and fuel are in the house where we can find them quickly.

La Conner is a small village. Most of our first responders are volunteers with their own homes and families. In a real disaster, resources get spread real thin, real quick. The town’s Map Your Neighborhood program is designed to help neighbors organize to help one another before disaster strikes. Call Town Hall if you would like to learn more about organizing your neighborhood.

La Conner’s town website will soon have a series of one-page guides for how to prepare your home or office for a potential earthquake.

Jerry George is on the La Conner Emergency Management Commission.