MEDIA RELEASE

The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has announced the availability of new guidelines to protect property from the effects of earthquakes. This week marks the 17th anniversary of the devastating 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake in California.

The new IBHS guide, “Earthquake Risk Around the U.S. – How to Protect Your Property,” provides information to help residents and business owners better understand the areas of a home or business most vulnerable to earthquake damage and offers solutions to minimize the risk of property losses.

The information and suggestions presented in this guide range from simple weekend tasks that require basic carpentry skills to more complex projects that may require professional assistance.

Key topics covered include:

* The relationship between your home or business and an earthquake;
* Key areas of your home or business that are especially susceptible to damage;
* Ways you can reduce damage to your home or business and belongings; and,
What you can do to protect yourself and your family.

“In the U.S. we mainly associate earthquakes with California, but many other states also are at serious risk, such as South Carolina and those in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
Between December 1811 and February 1812, the New Madrid Zone had four of the largest known earthquakes in North America. It was reported that the Mississippi River ran backwards and the ground motion from the last quake caused church bells to ring as far as away as Boston,” said Julie Rochman, CEO and president, IBHS.

“The deadly earthquakes in Chile and Haiti last year tragically and vividly illustrated how damaging a single event can be, and what a difference effective building codes and other loss control measures can make to lives and property,” Rochman said.

“Earthquakes are not like blizzards or hurricanes; we do not a clear warning period that one is imminent in a particular place,” she said. “Accordingly, we must prepare more broadly now. The IBHS guidelines provide detailed instructions to help residents and business owners become better prepared. The time to take action is before, not after, a catastrophe like a major earthquake hits.”

IBHS is an independent, nonprofit, scientific and educational organization supported by the property insurance industry. The organization works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other risks to residential and commercial property by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.

The guidelines are publicly available at www.DisasterSafety.org

For more information, contact IBHS at (813) 286-3400 or info@ibhs.org.