(THIS STORY ORIGINALLY RAN ON APRIL 4, AFTER THE STRONG EASTER EARTHQUAKE. IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT QUAKE THAT RATTLED SAN DIEGANS' NERVES, IT'S WORTH RE-READING.)

On Easter Sunday, an earthquake south of the U.S.-Mexico border shook high-rises in downtown San Diego and was felt across Southern California and Arizona. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.2 magnitude quake struck in Baja California, about 108 miles east-southeast of Tijuana.

There seems to have been an abundance of earthquakes of late. Which prompts experts to utter this warming: Three days.

It doesn’t sound like very much time, but could you survive for three days without water, food or power? Add to that short list cell phones, communication, news, medical attention, shelter anda change of clothes. Three days. Could you do it? Are you prepared to live without any of the aforementioned items?

Jose Restrepo: Prepare for the Big One.

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Most of us aren’t. But that’s how long one might expect to go without the basics for survival and communication in the event of a major earthquake, says Jose Restrepo. The UCSD Professor of structural engineering has just returned to San Diego from Chile, where an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck on February 27. In 90 seconds, the earthquake caused enough damage for President Michelle Bachelet to declare a state of catastrophe.

“In Chile,” says Restrepo, “the population itself, even the country itself was not prepared to cope with a large magnitude earthquake. They can’t cope with this size tragedy. People have not been educated, or if they have been educated, they have not taken notice that everyone needs to be able to survive for 72 hours without help.”

He says that people expect that if California is hit by a large shaker the National Guard will be at the scene immediately.

“That’s a myth,” says Restrepo.

Instead, Restrepo saysbe prepared. “You must have water,” he says, “Water is the most vital element. It’s not likely that water service will be restored for the first several days.” He suggests storing three gallons per person per day. He also suggests stockpiling dried foods, like pastas, that can be boiled on a gas barbecue.

“Know your environment,” he says. “Have a plan.” He recalls the duck-and-cover drills of old and recommends that in an earthquake the safest place to be is under a desk or table. “You need to protect yourself from falling objects.”

But he acknowledges that sometimes the earth is shaking so hard that you can’t even stand. “In that case,” he says, “you have to do whatever you can to protect yourself.”

Can scientists predict earthquakes? “Yes,” says Debi Kilb, a seismologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. But the science of prediction is not very precise. “Our uncertainties are within plus or minus 50 years.”

During the actual earthquake, things happen fast. Kilb contrasts the speed of an earthquake traveling along a fault line such as the nearby San Andreas fault (“A lot of people think that might be the place for it in Southern California,” she says) with the time it takes to drive from San Diego to Disneyland: 50 seconds, as opposed to two hours.

“So, what could you do in a minute?” A lot, she says, if you actively think about the possibility of an earthquake occurring and consider your surroundings throughout the day. But it’s not something we do naturally, she says.

Why?

“Nobody’s been in a large and devastating earthquake lately," she says. Northridge [he biggest earthquake in Southern California of the past several years] was in 1994.”

Kilb says that earthquake preparedness centers on common sense. “If you’re going to be at a desk job for eight hours a day, do you have a bookshelf that’s not bolted to the wall and that has tons of books that could hit you?” sheasks.

In addition to situational awareness, Kilb suggests stockpiling items like water, dried and canned foods, pet foods, medical supplies, money, flashlights, and walking shoes.

“In San Diego,” says Restrepo, “sometimes we take earthquakes lightly. The San Andreas fault is not far away from us. It’s only 30 miles. I must say that 200 miles away from the earthquake in Chile, there were bridges and buildings that collapsed.”

For more information on earthquake safety and preparedness, visit the Red Cross Web site.