How to Prepare Your Home for an Earthquake

Three fixes prevent most earthquake injuries, and none of them require a contractor: anchor the tall furniture, strap the water heater, and keep nothing heavy above a bed. The shaking itself rarely kills — in the 1994 Northridge quake, more than half of all injuries came from unsecured furniture, TVs, and falling objects. Here's how to make your home behave, room by room, in the order that matters most.

1. Identify Your Risks

Start with a walkthrough. Look for:

• Unsecured furniture (bookshelves, dressers, water heaters)
• Heavy objects above beds or seating
• Gas lines that could rupture
• Blocked exits

The quick math: a 40-gallon water heater weighs about 450 pounds once full, and a tall bookshelf loaded with hardcovers can top 200 pounds. When the ground moves at 1 g of sideways acceleration — roughly what a magnitude 6.5 nearby delivers — that's the weight of a small car trying to tip over onto you.

2. Essential Safety Gear

Every home in an earthquake zone should have:

• Gas shut-off tool — A simple wrench kept next to the gas meter
• Fire extinguisher — a multipurpose ABC unit like the First Alert HOME1 Fire Extinguisher: UL rated 1-A:10-B:C, it covers wood, liquid, and electrical fires for about $20
• Emergency whistle — One per person, attached to keys
• Sturdy shoes near the bed — broken glass everywhere

3. Secure Your Furniture

The Big Three:

• Bookshelves: Anchor to wall studs with anti-tip straps. One strap at the top third of the shelf is not enough — use two, one high and one low. A QuakeHold! 4164 Furniture Strap Kit, Anti-Tip Protection kit covers both points on one shelf for about $10; screw into studs, not drywall.
• TVs: Wall mount or anti-tip strap. Flat-screen TVs are top-heavy and slide off stands easily; anchor kits cost about $15.
• Water heater: Seismic straps + flexible gas line. A rigid gas line snaps where the heater moves, which is how fires start. FEMA recommends strapping it at the top third and lower third, bolted to wall studs. A two-pack like the Eastman 86299 Water Heater Safety Strap, 132 inch, 2-Pack covers both anchor points with one kit.

4. The 72-Hour Earthquake Kit

Store near an exterior door (not in the garage — cars may be trapped). This is the kit we recommend, and it costs about $380 to assemble:

• Water (1 gal/person/day for 3 days): a family of four needs 12 gallons — two Reliance Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Water Container jugs (7 gallons each) covers it, and see our food and water storage guide for the full two-week build-out.
• Food — Mountain House #10 cans (25-year shelf life) and other no-cook staples.
• First aid kit: the Surviveware Large First Aid Kit has 200+ items organized by color-coded compartments, so you can find a bandage in the dark.
• Radio: the Midland ER310 Emergency Radio keeps NOAA weather alerts flowing for 72+ hours on battery — critical when the cell network collapses, as it did in the 2011 Tōhoku quake.
• Power: the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Portable Power Station portable power station recharges phones and radios for days when the grid is down.
• Multi-tool, flashlight, N95 masks
• Cash ($200 in small bills) — ATMs and card readers will be down
• Copies of IDs, insurance, medical info in a ziplock

If you need a portable version for the car, our get home bag checklist covers a lighter kit that lives in your vehicle.

5. Room-by-Room Checklist

Living Room:

• Heavy picture frames not above seating
• Bookshelves anchored
• TV secured
• Clear path to exits

Kitchen:

• Cabinet latches
• Heavy items in lower cabinets
• Glass items behind closed doors
• Fire extinguisher accessible

Bedrooms:

• Nothing heavy above beds (mirrors, shelves, frames)
• Flashlight under each bed — a magnetic-base AA light like the Energizer HC-550 Magnetic Flashlight (AA) sticks right to the frame so it can't wander off in an aftershock
• Shoes and glasses within reach
• Bed away from windows

Utility Area:

• Water heater strapped
• Flexible gas line installed
• Tools near gas shut-off

6. What to Do When It Happens

During: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Get under a sturdy table or desk — in the 1994 Northridge quake, most of the 33 deaths happened indoors. Stay away from windows.

After: Check for gas leaks, put on shoes, grab your kit, and follow your evacuation plan. Expect aftershocks — a large quake typically produces dozens, some strong enough to knock down already-damaged structures.

Communication: Text, don't call (text uses less bandwidth). Have an out-of-state contact — local lines jam first, but long-distance texting often still works.