FDPP Month Twelve

FDPP Month Twelve (Family Disaster Preparedness Plan) is available below...

The Family Disaster Preparedness Plan Month Twelve is available for free along with four Structural Disaster Preparedness forms to download and print for your Family Disaster Preparedness Plan.This will be an important last step in your plan.

There is a 70% chance that you and your family will be at home during the next earthquake. You have a choice as to how well your home will perform. Next to loss of life, the loss of your home will be the greatest catastrophe to occur in an earthquake.

The basic rectangular, single-story, wood frame house is one of the safest types of structures in an earthquake. Most people will be safe at home if they live in a well-braced wood-frame building of one or two stories. These buildings are unlikely to collapse completely during earthquakes. Common damage in these structures is light cracking of interior walls or cracking of brick.

The key to a well-designed building is its ability to withstand an earthquake as a single unit. The shaking and lateral forces of an earthquake will separate building components at their weakest points. Therefore, all structural elements must be securely tied together:

• The structure must be tied to the foundation with anchor bolts to keep it from sliding
• The wall studs must be sheathed (tied) with plywood or some other material to reduce deflection and provide strength
• The floors and roof must be fastened securely to the walls to tie the structure together.

Activities for FDPP Month Twelve:

• The Preparedness Project sheets for Adding Foundation Bolts, Sheathing Cripple Walls, Strengthening Posts and Beams, and Bracing Outdoor Structures are below. Download and print these project sheets out and add them to your Family Disaster Plan notebook for handy reference.
• Calendar date and time for meeting this month to inspect your home and create a “To-Do” List for strengthening the structural components of your home.
• If you are uncomfortable performing this inspection yourself, contact an engineer experienced in seismic strengthening. You can find them in the yellow pages of the phone book.
• Check your house and garage for foundation bolts. These bolts secure the wood structure to concrete foundation. They should be a minimum of six feet apart along the sill plate.
• For more information on securing your house to the foundation, follow the FDPP Month Twelve forms above.
• Inspect the vertical studs that extend from the foundation to the first floor of your home. These are common in crawl space areas and are called cripple walls. If they are exposed (for example, without sheathing) on the inside, they could buckle in the ground motion that accompanies many large earthquakes.
• For more information on strengthening and bracing cripple walls, follow the FDPP Month Twelve forms below.
• Inspect all exposed framing in garages, basements, porches and patio covers where beams, posts, walls, floors and ceilings come together. All these components need to be connected with metal connectors.
• Check all brick, masonry and stone facades to make sure they are securely attached to your home. Consult a structural engineer for advice on how to do this.
• Check the chimney for loose tiles an bricks.
• Check the ceiling in the attic surrounding the chimney. It should be reinforced with ¾ inch plywood nailed to the beams to provide protection from falling bricks that might break through the roof.
• If your chimney is old and extends more than five feet above the roof, consider bracing it. Consult a seismic engineer.
• For more information specific to masonry chimneys, follow the FDPP Month Twelve forms below.
• Inspect all large plate glass windows to make sure they are safety glass.
• Consider adding a safety film to all windows. This does not prevent the window from breaking, but it does keep the glass from failing and injuring loved ones.
• If you live in a mobile home, follow the information in the 12 Month Family Disaster Preparedness Plan under Structural Preparations specific to mobile homes. The plan has information on building codes also.

Foundation - Preparedness Project 5

Cripple Walls - Preparedness Project 6

Beams and Posts - Preparedness Project 7

Outdoor Structures - Preparedness Project 8

Return to Family Disaster Plan from FDPP Month Twelve.