Earthquake prepareness - utility shutoff

With the recent events in Japan we are starting to think about how prepared we are for certain events. One thing that is important to know is how to shutoff utilities (water, gas etc). I know where my water main shutoff is but I have no idea about gas. How do we make sure that all the home owners know this important information?

Lolke

Hmm....I'm not entirely sure where the gas shutoff valves are myself.

Are far as how to communicate it so every resident knows about it. We could post it here but many residents don't come to this site or don't know about it. We could post a notice by the mailboxes but most people don't read the notices or they are taken down. We could do a mailing but lots of people disregard notices from peachtree or never receive it.

Ideally the information should be easily accessible at the time of the incident since an earthquake can happen years from now and even folks who read a notice or mailing may forget or new folks may move in.

Perhaps we need to do a combination of things.

Raise awareness of what needs to be done. Hold a training session for those who are interested in learning and include the information in a yearly mailing.

Thoughts?

Did Peachtree decide to get Earthquake Insurance for our complex and if no why not.

Hi Jean,

Peachtree doesn't make that decision, the board does and we never came to a consensus. Because of the costs and the ceiling/cap that insurance companies put on, it is difficult to justify the cost. If we had a crystal ball and knew a quake was coming in the next 5 years then it would be a no brainer.

As far as the gas shutoff, Peachtree confirmed for me that th gas shutoff valves are in the utility closets of each building.

I would like to know the switch for water valve as well. Is it inside the garage? Is it possible for some pictures for the valve?

I believe they are on the outside of the buildings, often near the garage doors but not always. It depends on the unit/building configuration.