In August the East Coast experienced an earthquake and ahurricane—and more hurricanes are developing. While billions ofdollars in damage has been done and lives have been lost, there aresome things the average person can do to mitigate their ownexposure in the event of a disaster.

Earthquakes: During an earthquake, the properthing to do is to drop, cover and hold on. Experts now encouragepeople to get under a heavy item of furniture and hold on—do notstand in a doorway; do not go outside. This will protect you fromfalling objects. And while outside may seem to be a safer place tobe, trees, power lines and building parts do fall. Before anearthquake ever occurs, do an assessment: How securely are itemsfastened to the walls? Is the bookcase a little top heavy? It'llcertainly fall once the ground starts shaking. And while it may notseem important now in areas not prone to earthquakes, a little bitof preventative action never hurts. After an earthquake, beware ofany damaged interiors and be on the lookout for leaking gas lines.There are often fires after an earthquake because of such rupturedlines.

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Hurricanes: With hurricanes the practical thingis to have flood insurance long before hurricane season, as thereis a 30-day waiting period before coverage takes effect. However,with the threat of an approaching hurricane, a homeowner can atleast remove damageable items from the floor and get them out ofharm's way. It doesn't take much effort to lift the curtains ormove the throw rug and end tables to higher ground. Anything donein advance helps the insured from having more soggy items to cleanup after the fact. And NEVER drive into standing water. Waterweighs roughly ten pounds a gallon, and when it accumulates andstarts moving it doesn't take much to sweep a car and its occupantsaway.

In the event of an evacuation: Evacuation plansare important as well. When the government says to evacuate, wheredo you intend to go? It's prudent to plan a location to evacuate toin advance, and if you own pets, make sure that location willaccept them.

More information: There are plenty of websitesthat have information on how to prepare for and react to suchdisasters:

• The CDC has an emergencywebsite.
• FEMA has information on buildingan emergency kit as well as numerous safety tips.
• As more and more people are connected via social networks andtechnology, there's a site with instructions on how to stayconnected.