This week, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck Canada, with its epicenter at Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. Tremors from the quake were felt as far away as Ohio, Vermont and New York City. With attention justifiably focused on the developments in the Gulf Coast, this event was largely overlooked. But it serves as an important reminder to train all of your employees on the basic response to each major natural disaster, even if you believe that your business is located in a “safe” area. After all, we typically associate earthquakes with California or Japan, but that is not a safe assumption. Indeed, businesses in those locales are more likely to be familiar with safety procedures as they recognize the risks.
You can reduce the risk of injury due to tremors or other seismic activity by bolting heavy furniture to the office walls and ensuring that drawers and cabinet doors securely close, so that they don’t spill their contents out. I have a very heavy desk and wall unit which I bolted to the walls as I didn’t want the items to tip and fall on someone. Thankfully, I have not experienced an earthquake in my office, but as the tenants above me often stomp around and blast their stereo system, I often do experience the walls shaking, so I am glad to have taken the precautions!