Earth Sciences

Take Control of Your Family Memories Before Disaster Strikes

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Damage from the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the ...

Damage from the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, was extensive. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Something to consider…. Have you ever taken a moment and asked yourself – what happens if I’m a victim of a natural disaster… whether it’s a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire, flood… or whatever…. Have you considered what would happen to my personal mementos? The ones that are irreplaceable?

 

I had never considered this until I heard a colleague complain about a virus that wiped away his operating system and all of his files. This includes photos from his daughter’s first year of life. That had my attention. I love my kids and my photos and memories of my family are irreplaceable to me.

 

In the wake of any natural disaster you will see the heartbreaking images of people sifting through debris trying to look for pieces of memories…How can you avoid this from happening to you?

 

My answer: A third party digital storage site.

 

I have my photos scanned (for the older ones) and backed up but I also have them duplicated on a large third party vendor (who shall remain nameless – I am not about endorsements) so in the event of a natural disaster, such as a large earthquake, I have my photos and scans of my children’s artwork preserved electronically on a server in some other state.

 

I really grappled with putting the images on their servers because there is a question of ownership and privacy… but you can put the images to “private” for your use only. I also don’t buy into the conspiracy that the large “storage” companies are trying to steal your images for their own copyright.

 

What do I recommend? Find what works for you.

 

There are large services that provide cloud drives for free (up to a certain amount of storage space) and then there is the annual fee for larger quantities in the even you take many photos of family and friends. Read the terms and conditions and look up customer reviews for the service before you decide.

 

Ok, I know I said I don’t like to mention companies…. But I will mention this one (no money or endorsement fee was exchanged here)… if you have many older family photos before digital was mainstream… try ScanMyPhotos.com (http://www.scanmyphotos.com/) . I sent them a few boxes of photos (probably 1K+ and they sent me back the originals neatly packed and a disk with everything scanned… Love this service.)

 

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best… but please save those images and back them up. It may take some set up time but in the event of an emergency… I promise you will either wish you had or be glad that you did.

 

Take control of your family archives before disaster strikes.

 

Be safe.

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Article Link: Allegedly GPS Errors May Occur With Earthquakes Greater Than 8.0

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English: Magnitude_7.0_BANDA_SEA

English: Magnitude_7.0_BANDA_SEA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This article is fascinating — apparently scientists have discovered that an earthquake greater than an 8.0 on the Richter Scale may cause errors with GPS systems. Apparently the shift in the earth may throw off GPS measurements.
Article:
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/1841127/report-earthquakes-greater-than-8-0-magnitude-create-gps-errors

The Turkish Earthquakes

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English: Map showing the epicentre of the 1999...

English: Map showing the epicentre of the 1999 İzmit earthquake. Türkçe: 1999 Gölcük Depremi merkezi ve etki alanı (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I spent a lot of time in Turkey for personal reasons and I got to know the country and I met many people along the way. For one thing, it’s a gorgeous country and they have amazing food, however, they are plagued with an active fault that produced two very serious earthquakes that toppled many buildings where many lives were lost. Granted many of those who perished were in buildings with un-reinforced masonry, however, it still doesn’t discount the fact that many people died.

I have heard  push back on preparations in the Northwest after referencing these incredible death tolls. In fact, some Americans think the Turkish deaths were a result of older building codes — Many Turkish buildings were older and the US building standards are much better.

Not so fast… not really… not always.

I know in Portland that geologists worry about roughly 1,600 structures in the downtown area. These are older brick buildings, like the ones in parts of Turkey, that couldn’t handle significant shaking. The earthquake in 1999 was only a 7.6… in the Northwest we are talking about a 9.0+.  That is exponentially worse than the Turkish quakes.

These brick buildings in the Northwest will be no match for megaquake. I know the going theory is duck and cover, however, in my personal (unprofessional opinion) if you are in an un-reinforced brick building…. cover your head and run… run for your life.

I knew of three people in the Gölcük earthquake (pronounced Gul-juck) — one person was on the 6th floor of his building and it collapsed as he slept. Amazingly enough he rode the collapsing debris down, dusted himself off and began searching for neighbors in the rubble. I had another friend who was on the second floor of her building, asleep in her bed, and the building collapsed on her. Her will to dig won out and in shock she dusted herself off and staggered down the street counting her blessings…. the last person I met was a survivor… a sole survivor… he lost 9 people in the earthquake. I was told he stood in line and the government issued him 9 death certificates. He lost his parents, siblings, a spouse, and two young nieces.

Anyone reading this, please take these warnings seriously and prepare. It may save your life.

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