Apartment Managers

Emergency Preparedness

Consult local building codes to ensure that buildings meet current seismic safety standards.

Develop an emergency plan before an earthquake that includes guidelines for storing water and food, obtaining first aid training, appointing floor or area leaders and conducting drills. Encourage tenants to develop their own emergency plans as well.

Encourage mobile home tenants to better secure their homes by installing structural support bracing systems, leaving wheels on homes, rather than moving them, and securing awnings. For more information contact you local building official.You shouldn’t depend on your tenants to know what to do in an emergency. It will be up to you to get them and your building ready for an earthquake.

More importantly, you will want to prepare people to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours after an earthquake.

Organize teams that will be responsible for first aid, search-and-rescue, communications and firefighting.

Provide tenants with a white flag or a distinguishable sign to post that will indicate which of them haven’t been seriously injured.

Practice Earthquake: Duck, Cover & Hold drills in you complex or park.

Hold meetings to discuss these plans and provide information to your tenants.

Other Earthquake Preparedness Articles