PBS Terra explains 'Here's EXACTLY What to Do When the Next Megaquake Hits: Cascadia Subduction Zone'

PBS Terra's Weathered series just uploaded a sequel to the video I embedded in PBS examines the risks from a major earthquake in the Pacific Northwest, Here's EXACTLY What to Do When the Next Megaquake Hits: Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Subduction zone earthquakes are the largest and most destructive on earth. In 2004 a 9.1 megaquake hit Sumatra off the coast of Indonesia, unleashing a massive tsunami and killing 227,898 people. And in 2011, the Tohoku earthquake struck Japan, killing around 20,000 and triggering the infamous Fukushima nuclear disaster. In the Pacific northwest lurks the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which has been dormant for centuries and is overdue for its next “big one.”

In this episode we’re going to tell you what experts think is the best way to survive this inevitable disaster.

I was trained to drop, cover, and hold growing up in Los Angeles and I even tell my students about one time I did that when the Whittier Narrows Earthquake hit. The earthquake shook me awake in bed and I jumped out bed, past an office chair, and under the oak desk that my father had left me when he gave me his home office for my bedroom. I stayed there until the shaking stopped, at which point I got up, got a muffin out of the refrigerator, poured myself a glass of orange juice, and ate breakfast outside until the power came on again. Then I went into the house and watched the news to see what had happened. That's where I stayed, as I certainly wasn't going to work on building L.A.'s subway right after an earthquake. I was sure it would be closed for inspection, and it was.

That was one story I tell my students. Another is the previous PBS Terra video I embedded last year. I don't know if I have time to show this one as well and I'm not sure I should replace last year's video with this one. Stay tuned to see if I do. In the meantime, welcome to blogging as professional development.