By Sue Doyle
The first earthquake shook her bed so hard
that Brittany Garcia ran downstairs to be with her older
sister.
The second one? Much better. The 15-year-old was jostled awake
but didn't get up.
When the third one thundered through, she'd had enough. The
4.4-magnitude earthquake charged through her Fontana house
with a bang, tossing family pictures from the mantle to the
floor in a clatter.
"My heart started beating real fast," said Garcia, tapping her
hand quickly against her chest. "That's when I got up and
stayed up."
Garcia, like many Fontana residents, got an early start
Thursday morning after a wave of earthquakes, centered one to
two miles north of town, rattled the area.
Two 3.6 earthquakes struck within seconds of each other at
4:11 a.m., and felt like one strong shake. A magnitude-3.3 hit
a mile north of the city at 6:22 a.m., said Deborah
Williams-Hedges with Caltech media relations.
There were no reports of damage, but Cecilia Tapia, director
of the emergency services for the local American Red Cross in
Whittier, said the the swarm of temblors should serve as a
reminder that earthquakes can happen in the Whittier area,
like the 6.0 shaker that toppled buildings in the Uptown area
on Oct. 1, 1987.
Families should review disaster plans and restock earthquake
kits with two or three days worth of food and water. Parents
should talk to children about where they can go in the house
to safely ride out an earthquake.
"Earthquakes hit when we least expect them," Tapia said. "We
should identify safe spaces in every room."
Safe spaces include underneath desks or tables. If there is
nothing to sit under, experts recommend sitting against an
interior wall where there are no large objects or pieces of
furniture that could fall on you.
Experts advise people to drop to the floor, cover their heads
and hold on until the shaking stops.
Tapia said Whittier-area residents can eliminate household
hazards by bolting bookcases and tall furniture to walls,
installing latches on kitchen cabinets and strapping hot water
heaters to the wall. |
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Source:
Whittier Daily News |
