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HERRIMAN — Like many people in Utah, Tamara Boyle has emergency food supplies in her basement.
“Each one of these is five gallons of drinking water,” she said while pointing to cardboard boxes filled with containers of water.
However, it wasn’t until the past month when Boyle really started thinking about her emergency supplies.
“I was just lying in bed and then it happened,” she said. “I woke my husband up and told him, 'I think we just had an earthquake.'”
She’s not alone in her thinking.
When Herriman City posted on its Facebook page in February, asking residents if they felt the earthquake, hundreds responded saying they had. Many said it woke them up out of a sound sleep.
One commenter wrote it’s a good time for an earthquake preparedness class.
Monte Johnson saw those comments and, as Herriman’s director of operations, he thought a preparedness class was a great idea.
“It made me wonder how prepared I was. So we decided to have a class on how to prepare in an emergency,” said Johnson.
He made some calls and found the Utah-based Disaster Discovery Center. It’s a group specializing in helping people prepare for disasters.
“It teaches people the steps really to take — what to do, how to do it, and why we’re doing it,” said Karen Thomas, who is the program manager for the Disaster Discovery Center.
The class is called Rebound in 72 — it looks at what to do in the first 72 seconds after an earthquake.
“If you’re in bed, you’re going to want to put your pillow over your head. You’re going to want to stay where you are until it finishes shaking,” said Thomas.
The class also looks at what to do 72 minutes, 72 hours and even 72 days after a disaster.
Even though the recent earthquakes in the Bluffdale, Herriman and Riverton area haven’t caused any major damage, it has been enough for many residents to start thinking about preparedness.
Boyle has packed an extra bag in her home and in her car with food supplies since the earthquakes happened. She’s also planning on taking the class.
“It does make you think what’s going to happen,” she said.
The free class was held Thursday night at Herriman City Hall.
The Disaster Discovery Center also has classes throughout the year for people to take.
