While the focus is currently on the devastation in Haiti, we could be next.

Time Magazine makes its predictions for the next big one, and Los Angeles tops the list.

Los Angeles has done a lot to beef up its building codes and emergency response in the 15 years since the Northridge quake and may be better prepared than any other major American city, but the city’s sheer size ensures the next Big One will be bloody.

Be prepared.

As for Haiti, the social media site Mashable has come up with 9 ways you can help.

UPDATE (1:49PM) – Before giving to any organization, protect yourself from possible scams by checking Charity Navigator.

In 1994 I was single and living in a studio apartment in Santa Monica when the Northridge Earthquake hit. Santa Monica got hit pretty hard considering its distance from Northridge, many houses came off their foundations and one apartment building two blocks from me had a gas leak and explosion minutes after the earthquake struck. (Thankfully due to the MLK holiday, none of the tenants were home at the time.)

And how well prepared was I for the earthquake? I had one small maglight flashlight IN MY CAR. That’s it. So in the pitch dark — and you know what I mean by how dark it was at 4:30 in the morning with a lot of power out throughout the city — I found shoes and went to my car to get the flashlight. After that day I was only slightly better prepared: I kept water in my car and bought many more flashlights to keep around the apartments I lived in.

Since we got married 8 years ago, my husband and I have been keeping a fairly decent earthquake kit in our easy to get to storage area and after all the recent shaking we pulled it all out and refreshed it. The photo above is of the supply box and the small blue bin behind it has our foodstuffs. We wrote down a few more things we needed and I have been perusing Sean and Jason’s Urban Journal website for additional ideas. 

I would love for you all to share things you have your kits, items you have in your cars, what you keep by your bedside. I would love recommendations on hand crank/solar flashlights and radios. Tell me what oddball things you keep in those boxes, just in case.

Click through the jump to see photos from Santa Monica damage in 94 as well as a sample of our foodstuffs and a more complete list of things in our supply box.

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I didn’t feel this one, but I keep getting IMed about it.

A light earthquake occurred at 3:49:11 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
The magnitude 4.1 event occurred 2 km (1 miles) NE of Hawthorne, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 12 km ( 8 miles).

Did you feel it? Fill out the survey

See the Shake map

Or so everyone in my house says.

More to come!

Preliminary Earthquake Report
A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:39:36 PM (PDT) on Sunday, May 17, 2009.
The magnitude 5.0 event occurred 2 km (1 miles) E of Lennox, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 14 km ( 8 miles).

Revision after seismologist review:
A light earthquake occurred at 8:39:36 PM (PDT) on Sunday, May 17, 2009.
The magnitude 4.7 event occurred 1 km (1 miles) ESE of Lennox, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 15 km ( 9 miles).

See the USGS Community Internet Intensity Map for this quake.

Did you feel it? (Fill out the survey)

Or Westlake Village.  Or Thousand Oaks.  Take your pick.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake, which occured at 6:11 p.m. local time, preliminarily measures 4.4, a number that will likely change slightly after review by USGS seismologists.  Here is a USGS map of where the quake struck.  Strangely, USGS always locates earthquakes by their proximity in four directions to nearby cities and towns, instead of just pinpointing exactly the area where the quakes hit. A local and apparently jaded friend of mine calls these less-than-catastrophic quakes “massages,” but since they unsettle my balance and/or my gut, I don’t take them so lightly.

I’m on the Southeast coast of Florida, that well-known stretch between Miami and Palm Beach.  Therefore, it’s time for another installment of East Coast vs. West Coast.  This area of the East Coast was my second choice of home location after the West Side and South Bay beach towns near Los Angeles.  So while I’m here visiting the runner-up location, I want to see if I made the right decision.  Here’s how I evaluate it:

FLA vs. L.A., after the jump

It’s fair to say that after reading Emergency I’ve been looking at things a little different and considering a bunch of “what if” situations. One thing that stuck with me was the repeated assurances by rescue workers and authorities that when things go wrong most likely they will NOT be there to take care of you. I’ve actually heard this before first hand but the book was a good reminder.

Because of that I thought it would be worth it to look into LA’s Community Emergency Response Team and see about their free training. Turns out I wasn’t the only one looking and starting in May I and several of the authors here are going to be taking their 7 week course and getting our CERT certification. We talk a lot about being prepared for earthquakes and disasters on this site but that usually ends with lists of things you should have in a kit at your house. I’m thinking actual hands on training for these situations will be much more useful.

If you’d like to join us, we’re taking the classes in Silver Lake that start 5/5, however if there are classes closer to you I’d recommend those instead, you know, because of the whole “community” part of it. Plus, those green vests are just dope.

Earlier this month Jason was talking about LA Author Neil Strauss’ new book Emergency, which is basically an instruction manual for survival should society fall apart around you due to political, economic, or natural disaster. While writing it, one of the people Neil learned from (and featured in the book as well) is Kevin Reeve from On Point Tactical, a New Jersey based scout, tracking, and survival school. The book talks about their Urban Escape and Evasion class and last weekend a few of us were lucky enough to take that course right here in Los Angeles.

More about the course after the jump, but here’s a quick (and shaky, sorry!) video that I shot of Kevin showing off one of the things we learned in the class -making lock picks out of paperclips and safety pins!

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Hello Metblogs Community,

I’m thrilled to join the madcap Los Angeles Metblogs team and hope you will relate to whatever it is I decide to contribute each week. My posts will likely be about shopping around Los Angeles, things chicks might like, innocent gossip and tips on the best bars to pick up the dudes (please let me know if you have any leads). Maybe I’ll even drop some names of people you don’t know and drop some mad cash in your store – so look out! I’m a coming!

(Photo courtesy of Courtenay Gasking)

On the personal side, I moved to Los Angeles from Atlanta in 2003 where I received a B.A. in Communications from Oglethorpe University. I’m left handed, have a motorcycle license and enjoy vintage clothes, good scotch and bad poker players sitting on the other side of the table.

Thanks for having me. If you want to keep up with the mundane goings on in my life, I invite you to follow me on twitter.

Love,

MissRFTC

BREAKING: According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake measuring 3.4 on the good old Richter scale struck Venice about an hour ago.  That’s weird.  It was a mile away from me, and I didn’t feel a thing.  However, two friends on the other side of the earthquake in Santa Monica told me that they felt it, short and sharp, and that the dogs were spooked for ten minutes.  Can earthquakes just point North?

Everything is shaking apart around me.

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According to preliminary reports on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website, an earthquake measuring 5.0 struck near San Bernardino at about 7:50 p.m. this evening. I felt light to moderate tremors for about 10 seconds here at the beach. Anybody else?

UPDATE: USGS now lists the earthquake’s strength as 4.5.  Before the 5.0 listing, the initial report I saw was 4.9. The number may well change again shortly.  It’s normal for the figure to fluctuate for a while, apparently because the initial reports are straight from the computers before being reviewed by USGS seismologists.

It was a quake. A few hours ago, I thought I felt something but others around me were all “no way.” Turns out yes way. 5.1 near Ludlow around 8:14PM, with a few aftershocks since. Pretty small and far away but damnit! I felt it! Anyone else??

We did the “Shake Out” drill for how to ride out the “Big One”. What remains to be answered for many is what do we do after the ground stops shaking? Attend the Art Center of Design’s Get Ready Rally at the Nokia Center for help in doing just that Friday from 4-9PM.

From their official press release:

Get Ready–and have fun doing it!
Art Center College of Design invites you to attend The L.A. Earthquake Get Ready Rally (Friday, Nov. 14, 4-9 pm in downtown Los Angeles). Informative and entertaining, the rally includes a multimedia show, opportunities to experience After Shock, earthquake preparedness information, giveaways, presentations by state and city leaders, music from K-Earth 101, and more.

You’re screwed. Seriously. And it isn’t like you weren’t warned.

You could have had an emergency pack ready to go under your desk, in your trunk, and at home. Now in addition to staying safe, you’ll need to worry about finding water, food, and essential medications.

You could have discussed with your family where to meet up if communications lines were cut off. Is your wife safe? Are your kids going to stay at school, head for home, or possibly try and find you at work?

You could have paid more attention to emergency exits, and alternate emergency exits in case the original one became impassable. With lights out, and halls filling quicly with smoke, how will you find your way to safety?

The Great Shakeout is coming next Thursday. You have a whole weekend to prepare. Or do you think you’re ready?