By: Daniella Cohen San Francisco is buzzing this morning as we gear up for a historic Pride weekend on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. What a day and weekend indeed to be in this great city!

"Non Structural Mitigation" is a fancy term for doing what you can to prevent things like furniture, appliances, wall decor, etc. from falling or tipping over during an earthquake. This blog is an ongoing journal by DEM'ers (and SF72 enthusiasts!) first-hand incremental steps to prevent the big mess that the big one could cause.

Isn’t the New Year inspiring? Who doesn’t love a chance to start fresh and really focus on what you want to accomplish—with a whopping 365 days to do so. We have a hunch that preparedness may not be number one on most New Year’s resolutions lists, but in its most boiled down state, preparedness is easier than most think.  And by taking stock of your preparedness, you are doing something now, before an emergency, that will make a big difference after.

Last week a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook northern Greece and Western Turkey. The quake caused 266 injuries--mostly resulting from people rushing out of buildings. So, we're going to get up on our soap box (or under it, should the earth move) and remind everyone what to do during an earthquake.

Quake Basics

Every April 18th we commemorate the anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire with a combination of tradition and ceremony. This year, we added one more element to the activities: connection.

The tradition component is demonstrated when we gather at Lotta's Fountain at five in the morning with our fellow San Franciscans (some of us in 1906 period attire) to mark the moment when the earthquake struck.

April 18th marks the 108th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Although very few of us have a first-hand memory of what remains one of California’s most significant catastrophes, every April many of us think about the what ifs with regard to earthquakes. 

Last night’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake off of the coast of Eureka, California was reminder that we live in earthquake country. Thankfully, there were no reports of injuries or damage and the ocean tremor did not generate a tsunami. [youtube=http://youtu.be/CVNjK-S9dVQ]