If you haven’t been through an earthquake before, you have managed to avoid going through what can be a truly frightening experience. Earthquakes are very common in the state of California and can occur on either a small or large scale. In fact, you may have been through an earthquake before, and may not have even noticed it if it was either very small in nature, or perhaps you were too far from the epicenter of the earthquake. If an earthquake is a totally foreign experience to you, we are going to give you a breakdown of a few things that you need to know about earthquakes.
What is An Earthquake?
An earthquake is a tremor or shaking of the ground that is caused by a shifting of tectonic plates that are lying beneath the earth. Tectonic plates naturally butt against one another beneath the earth, but when one tectonic plate slips past another tectonic plate, shifts and quakes in the earth happen. The location beneath the earth where the earthquake originates is known as the hypocenter.
An earthquake typically happens in three different phases that include the foreshock, the mainshock, and the aftershock.
What is the Foreshock?
The foreshock is composed of tiny earthquakes that happen around the epicenter of the larger earthquake that follows. The only downside of studying foreshocks is that we don’t know if a foreshock is an earthquake or if it is just a foreshock, until we know if a bigger quake occurs after it.
What is the Mainshock?
The main shock is what we have come to know as the main part of the earthquake. This is the part of the quake that comes after the foreshock or foreshocks.
What are Aftershocks?
The mainshock or the brunt of the earthquake is always followed by aftershocks. What’s incredible about aftershocks is that depending on the size of the mainshock, they can occur for days, months, or years after the earthquake has ended.
More on Earthquakes
Essentially, an earthquake is caused when the potential energy that is stored up by adjacent plates, overcomes the friction between the two plates. The place where two plates are connected is called the fault, and when plates have built up enough potential energy from small or large shifts over time, it causes the faults of those plates to unstick themselves. When the contact of the faults between two plates breaks, seismic energy is released, which causes the earthquakes that we feel on the earth’s surface.
Earthquakes can damage homes, businesses, infrastructure, grading, and lawns. A structure impacted by an earthquake may collapse, become unstable, no longer function, or incur cosmetic damages. Once you are safe from the main shock or immediate aftershocks of an earthquake, contact a restoration certified specialist to help right away. In California, it may be a good idea to have such a specialist in your list of emergency numbers.
Despite resistance at a national level from certain quarters, Petaluma has been at the forefront of advocacy for decisive action to combat climate change. The city’s climate action plan has been in place since 2002, and in conjunction with the Sonoma County Regional Climate Action Plan, has taken many concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientific studies have concluded that climate change in the North Bay region is already underway. Over 200 Petaluma residents live in a zone that is expected to be the scene of at least one major flood of over 3 feet sometime during the next three decades.
Our business here at Restoration Certified Specialists is in helping consumers contain and remedy the effects of emergencies. We also believe in helping Sonoma area residents to be fully informed of potential disasters. That's why we support the city and county’s initiatives in addressing climate change and why we post material about such on our company blog. Here are some of the chief concerns which we wish to share with you.
Why We Care About the Impacts of Climate Change?
The health of our citizens as well as our energy, water and land use is already being impacted by the adverse effects of climate change because they influence:
• The health of our senior and younger populations.
• The structure of our demands for water and the quality and quantity of our water supply.
• Costs associated to both our commercial and residential energy consumption.
• Crops that farmers are able to grow at certain locations.
What Are the Dangers Attributed to Climate Change?
There are three main concerns here, any one of which poses potential dangers to our area.
1. We enjoy a climate that is favorably compared to Mediterranean climates known for arid and extended dry seasons. Climate change has the potential to adversely affect us by creating an increase in extreme weather, a shortening of our winter season, and by contributing to drier and shorter summer seasons, all of which increases arid conditions which can lead to increased drought.
2. If climate change is not curtailed, we can expect to see temperatures in summer rising by as much as 6-8 degrees, and the data from scientific studies portends a decrease in the amount of our rainfall.
3. Sea levels might rise by as much as 5 feet by century’s end. This could lead to conditions of extreme flooding along the coasts of the entire North San Francisco Bay Estuary. Also in danger are the freshwater rivers and streams along coastal regions at the confluence of the estuary and the ocean.
What Sonoma is Doing to Fight Climate Change
With an aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent, the city has undertaken 24 separate initiatives. Here are some of these efforts already underway.
• Planning regulations that emphasizes increased walkable areas.
• Replacing city vehicles with electric and hybrid ones with zero emissions.
• Upgrading the city’s waste water treatment to facilitate production of natural gas to power city vehicles.
• Requiring new construction to be energy efficient, including installation of solar panels.
We encourage you to be aware of climate change. But know that should you ever need our emergency services from water and sewage damage or in the removal of mold, we’re there for you 24-hours a day. Contact us here.
Basement flooding, you never expect it and you can't really prepare for it. Unexpected issues happen all the time in homes, but a basement flood is not only unexpected, it can also be very dangerous.
Turn It Off
The absolute first thing that you need to do when your basement floods is to shut off any power and gas into the basement. The importance of this can not be stated strongly enough. If you do not know where your shutoffs are call an electrician before entering the basement.
Wear Protective Gear
Once you are sure the water is safe from electrical or gas dangers, you should still put on protective gear before entering the water. Wearing gloves and boots or waders is advised. The water you are walking in is likely going to be grey water but could easily be black water, depending on the source. Until you are sure what type of flooding you are dealing with, take all precautions.
Stop The Water, Fast
It is important that you identify the location of where the water is entering your home as soon as you are able. If the water is entering from a broken pipe, shut off the water. Check your drains as well to ensure they are unclogged. Determine the extent of damage to your basement with the knowledge that time is against you in the cleanup process. If the water is greywater and not black water you will have 48 hours to remove the water as well as clean and dry everything. If you are unable to do this, you need to seek out the help of a professional cleaning service for the safety of your home and family.
Clean Or Have It Cleaned
If it something you can clean yourself, read our steps on this other post. If not, look to the next paragraph.
A professional team will arrive on scene and begin removing all standing water from your home. Any and all water damaged items and furniture will be removed and dried off entirely. If the basement is carpeted, it will likely need to be removed as it can prove difficult to dry and any moisture that it could hold can promote mold growth. Additionally any wet drywall will likely need to be replaced. Often with flooding, dirt will infiltrate the basement and any contaminated dirt will need to be removed from your basement and crawlspaces.
In any case of serious flooding we strongly suggest calling in a professional team of experts to restore your home to the its pre-flood condition of safety, comfort, and appearance. Time is not your friend in a flood situation and after the first 48 hours when the water becomes black, a whole host of mold and bacteria begin to settle on the flood site. If not properly cleaned, this can become issues that can hurt your family's health for years to come.
