If you're going to live here, you're going to experience earthquakes. Be ready to ride them out. For preparedness assistance for UCSD facilities, contact Garrett McLeish 534-1064, UCSD's Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. Tall, heavy furniture can topple over in a good shaking. The taller and narrower they are, the more likely they are to fall over.
Anchor bookcases, file and storage cabinets to the wall with bolts.
Those adjacent to doorways or seating areas are high priority. When furniture falls across exits or corridors they impede evacuation from a damaged building and hamper emergency responders from getting in. Securing furniture near seating areas prevents it from toppling over on people. Shelf lips and cabinet door locking systems help keep items from slipping off shelves. Cabinet door locking systems, just like the ones many parents use to keep small children from getting into dangerous household products, are readily available from hardware stores.