A: If your home has undergone structural damage of any kind, the safest place for your family is outside. If there’s any question about whether or not your home is habitable (due to aftershocks or structural damage), then you will probably want to take every precaution and have a professional assess the home’s level of safety before re-entering it.

Q: But my house is new and well-built. Won’t my house survive an earthquake?

A: Probably. But your home may still be a disaster area. Windows breaks, shelves and their contents fall, and the structural stability of parts of the house may come into question, particularly as aftershocks occur. The hope is that you can stay in your house after an earthquake. The QR Center is your insurance policy in case you have to go outdoors for any period of time to protect your family.

Q: Do I really need the QR Center? Won’t the government take care of me during a natural disaster?

A: The responsibility for responding to natural disasters rests with governments, non-governmental agencies, businesses, and individuals. We all must take responsibility to reduce our risks, and we all must make plans to care for ourselves and our families after a disaster occurs. Good preparation starts with self-sufficiency, and self-sufficiency starts at home. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to hope that others can care for you and your family during a catastrophic event; instead, your odds of keeping your family safe increase exponentially when you have in place (1) a proactive relief plan and (2) adequate supplies to care for those you love during an emergency.

Q: I want to protect my family, but I’m not sure how much I really need to do. If there’s a natural disaster, can’t I just go to a local emergency shelter site for displaced persons?

A: Maybe. However, after a major disaster, first responders and emergency personnel focus their efforts on locating and saving people with critical injuries and on dealing with other immediate impacts, such as fires and major structural damage. Further, before being opened to the public, each shelter site must be inspected for safety and set up by trained professionals so it can house hundreds or even thousands of people. As a result, shelters are often not open or operable for 24 to 72 hours or more after a natural disaster strikes.

The fact is that the American Red Cross, local governments, and other organizations often struggle to operate emergency shelters for masses of displaced children and adults, all of whom are desperate for food, water, warm clothing, bathroom facilities, first aid supplies, and a roof over their heads. It’s also important to consider whether you want your family to have to spend hours, days, or even a week or more in packed shelters that often lack sufficient provisions.

Q: If my home is damaged, why not just travel to a place where my family can find shelter?

A: After a major earthquake, much of the infrastructure we use everyday to move around the Bay Area will be closed to all but emergency vehicles. Travel that is not absolutely necessary for aiding persons in need will be very limited, if not curtailed. Your family will be limited to the area that you can get to by foot, and the resources that are in that area. Traveling in your immediate area may also put your family in danger, and should not be done unless absolutely necessary. If you are prepared and not in immediate danger or in need of emergency help, move around as little as absolutely necessary.

Q: I already have an earthquake relief kit. Isn’t it sufficient?

A: Probably not. Far too many households lack sufficient information and supplies to help them get through a catastrophic event. In a major disaster, it might take 72 hours or even one week or more before vital services such as water, electricity, and gas service are restored, and most relief kits lack adequate provisions to sustain families for more than a day or two. The QR Center, on the other hand, provides comprehensive disaster relief not available elsewhere.  [Comparisons]

To determine if your family already has everything needed, try this simple test. Empty your kit onto the floor and take a quick inventory of the items. Can your family realistically live out of doors for one week, let alone 72 hours or even one night, with the water, food, shelter, and other supplies provided? Will your family endure thirsty, hungry days and cold nights? Will your family be forced to move to an emergency shelter as soon as is reasonably possible because the supplies are inadequate? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then your current kit is probably not sufficient for your family’s needs.

Q: I can see that existing kits are insufficient and that the QR Center offers a comprehensive set of provisions. So why can’t I just put together my own disaster supply kit?

A: You can put together your own substantial store of provisions. However, while many people agree that comprehensive disaster survival preparation is important, very few people have actually done it. It takes a great deal of planning and time to determine what items need to be purchased, decide where to purchase the various provisions, actually make all of the purchases, and then compile the items and store them in a safe, sturdy outdoor container. It also takes regular commitment and effort to ensure the contents of the kit are reviewed, inspected and updated on an annual basis.

Q: I’m firmly committed to building my own comprehensive disaster supply kit right away. Won’t I save money by doing it myself?

A: Actually, no. Disaster Survival Solutions has established wholesale purchasing relationships with top manufacturers who produce the high-quality components included in the QR Center, and the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of these individual components is greater than the cost of purchasing them as part of the QR Center. In addition to the substantial amount of time you’ll spend locating, purchasing, and compiling all of these products, you’ll actually end up spending more money on them.

Q: ‘The Big One’ probably will not come tomorrow, why should I buy a QR Center now?

A: October 17, 1989 was just another tomorrow as well; today we remember it as the day the Loma Prieta quake struck. Installing a QR Center, and having it professionally maintained each year has immediate advantages. Your cost to have complete readiness goes down every year, but the quality of the preparation will not. No one can predict when you will need your QR Center, but today’s the day you can be sure it’s there for tomorrow. See Why I should buy today.

Q: Why shouldn’t I keep my disaster relief supplies inside my home?

A: The structural stability of your home may be compromised after a catastrophic event. When a disaster occurs, your primary objective is to get your family out of the home safely, and spending time locating or retrieving a relief kit kept indoors can delay your safe exit from the home. In addition, kits kept inside closets and cabinets, in drawers, or on shelves can sometimes be difficult to retrieve if those areas of the home are sealed off or undergo structural damage of any kind. The safest place to keep your disaster relief kit is outdoors.

Q: Why does my QR Center need yearly maintenance?

A: As part of our maintenance program, we update the personal, contact, and disaster relief information in the QR Center each year, as well as replace the water supply and any provisions that have become dated or unusable. The QR Center is completely inspected, and the fresh water and other items are returned to the sturdy outdoor container and sealed in a new 3 mil moisture barrier. The entire process is fast and easy, and in about 30 minutes we can ensure your QR Center is kept in a continued state of readiness.

Q: Can the QR Center be customized to meet my family’s specific needs?

A: Absolutely. We can customize the QR Center for families of any size. In addition, we will work with you to make sure the contents of the kit meet your family’s needs. For example, you may want the kit to contain pet care, or more than one gallon of water per person, additional food, or additional lighting. Or you would like a larger outside storage unit for additional items you would like to add for the care of infants, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.

Q: How soon can I have the QR Center installed?

A: We can install your comprehensive QR Center at your convenience. If desired, we can even provide next-day service. No one makes disaster preparedness as fast and simple as we do.

Q: If my family must survive outside for 72 hours or more, how much water do we need?

A: In a disaster, water supplies may be cut off or contaminated. You should store enough water for everyone in your family for at least one week. One gallon of water (128 ounces) per person per day is adequate for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene, and medical needs. It’s also important to note that traditional survival kits often contain only 4.5 ounces of water per person per day, which can leave your family dehydrated in a short period of time.

Q: What are the odds that an earthquake will occur?

A: There is a two in three chance that the Bay Area will experience an earthquake that registers 7.0 or higher on the Richter scale by the year 2030.

The last Bay Area earthquake of this magnitude occurred on April 18, 1906. Almost 300 miles of the San Andreas Fault ruptured, affecting portions of 19 California counties, from Mendocino in the north to Sacramento in the east and Monterey in the south. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake and associated fires caused over 3,000 deaths, destroyed over 28,000 buildings, and left almost one out of every four Northern California residents homeless.

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Seismological Society of America (SSA), California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently commissioned teams of experts to estimate how a similar earthquake would affect Northern California’s nearly 10 million residents. These experts determined that as many as 90,000 commercial buildings would sustain major structural damage and that 160,000 to 250,000 households would be displaced. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), in turn, estimates that 160,000 homes will be uninhabitable and in a state of disrepair requiring a substantial period of time for cleanup. Fires would also damage an additional 5 15% of the region’s buildings.