Are You Prepared for Disaster in 2016?

If a natural disaster hits your area in 2016, will you be prepared? Your area likely has tips for readying yourself, like these guidelines for New York City.

In some places, like Seattle, locals are going a bit further. Volunteers there have set up "hubs" that are designated locations to serve as communication centers if an earthquake or other type of disaster hits the area, as KOMO News reported. 

That could certainly happen there and elsewhere. In Western Washington, people could feel a recent 4.8 magnitude earthquake that started near Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). It was called one of the strongest in the Puget Sound in 10 years, by experts. A few months ago, a New Yorker article noted that the Northwest could be affected by a looming turn of events in upcoming years.

"We are facing all kinds of dangerous earthquakes," Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Director John Vidale said in the KOMO report. "The chances year to year are small, but we have to be ready."

While the seismic center is working on software to set off an alarm shortly before an earthquake causes shaking, volunteers and city officials are working to set up locations where neighbors can help one another after a disaster takes place. One of the first to get to work was the West Seattle area.

Locals are urged to fill suitcases that serve as survival kits with supplies like water, food, blankets and flashlights. There should be one for each family member, including pets. If electricity is missing for a week or more, such kits would be very necessary.

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-Follow Catherine on Twitter @TreesWhales