The Stephens with what remains of their emergency supplies after a weekend of living off their disaster kit. They pitched tents and ate from their stock of nonperishable foods.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Shea Stephens eats a pancake cooked in a tin can on a fire in the backyard of their house in North Portland. Over the weekend, the Stephens had to live off what they could find and cook, without using power sources or running water.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens pose for a photo with containers that could be used to store water in the event of a natural disaster.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
Shea Stephens attempts to build a fire in the backyard of their north Portland house.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
The Stephens attempt to build a fire in the backyard of their north Portland home.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
The Stephens eat their Friday night dinner before they participate in an earthquake simulation, where they were challenged to live off their emergency supplies.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens family practices earthquake drills at their home in North Portland. Experts say during an earthquake you should drop, cover, and hold on until the shaking stops.
Nate Sjol / OPB
Sadie Stephens lies down in her tent in the backyard of the Stephens home in north Portland. The Stephens chose to sleep outside to learn more about how they should be prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
John Stephens takes his first aid kit out to have on hand during the earthquake simulation at their home in North Portland.
Nate Sjol / OPB
It took the Stephens approximately two minutes to find out where to turn off the gas and water supply to their house.
Nate Sjol / OPB
Sadie Stephens plays with her guinea pig in the backyard of their house in north Portland.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
The Stephens lived off their emergency supplies for a weekend, to help them learn about how they need to be prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
Sadie Stephens reacts after eating her breakfast, which was prepared by using emergency supplies. She was less than enthusiastic about freeze-dried meals.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens play in their garbage can at their north Portland house, which they say could be used to store water for bathing in the event of a natural disaster.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
Sadie Stephens plays in the family's garbage can at their north Portland house, which according to the Stephens could be used to store water for bathing or the garden.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
Shea Stephens plays in the family's garbage can at their north Portland house, which according to the Stephens could be used to store water for bathing or the garden in the event of a natural disaster.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
John Stephens displays some of his supplies that he's going to live off of during the weekend: warm beer.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens cooked their breakfast by using their emergency supplies at their home in North Portland. Ten-year-old Sadie made some herbal tea in the morning, while her brother, Shea, made soup on the fire.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens decided to keep a list of supplies they learn they want to add to their emergency supplies.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Shea Stephens, and her mother Megan Stephens, sit by the fire in the backyard of their house in North Portland. Over the weekend, the Stephens lived off what they could find and cook, without using power sources or running water. They chose to stay in their backyard and sleep in tents.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Shea Stephens, and her mother Megan Stephens, lie in their tent in the backyard of their house in North Portland. Over the weekend, the Stephens chose to live in their backyard and sleep in tents, to simulate what life might be like after an earthquake.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Sadie Stephens, and her father John Stephens, cook food in the backyard of their house in North Portland, as part of a simulated exercise to see how they would do after an earthquake.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The Stephens cook lunch on the fire in the backyard of their house in north Portland. Over the weekend, The Stephens had to live off what they could find and cook, without using power sources or running water. They chose to live in their backyard and sleep in tents.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Shea Stephens cooks a pancake in a tin can on the Stephens fire in the backyard of their house in North Portland. Over the weekend, the Stephens had to live off what they could find and cook, without using power sources or running water.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
At the end of the weekend, the Stephens' supplies are depleted. Over the course of the weekend, they camped in their backyard, cooked all their meals on the fire they created from wood they had on hand, spoke with neighbors about their emergency preparedness plans and said they learned a lot about areas they need to improve on in order to be fully prepared for in the event of a natural disaster.
The Red Cross recommends you store 14 gallons of water and 42 meals per person in the event of a natural disaster, enough to last about two weeks. Ten-year-old Sadie Stephens packed a few extra essentials.
"I only brought my sneakers, a notebook, and I brought my stuffed animal because I can't sleep without him," she said, showing off the tent she shared with her mom, Megan Stephens.
The Stephens women, along with 11-year-old Shea and father John Stephens, recently participated in OPB's "Living Off Your Quake Kit" weekend, in which they practiced living off their emergency supplies.
Outside the tent at the Portland family's home, the rest of the emergency gear was staged in yard: boxes of freeze dried meals, a radio charged by a small solar panel, a generator and about 30 gallons of water stored in large jugs.
"It could be weeks before the city has water trucks coming down your street. It's very unrealistic to think first responders are going to have enough for people," said John, a program officer with Mercy Corps.
A real Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could badly damage the city's water pipes and it could take more than a year to repair the system. So over the weekend, the family relied on their stored water to drink, do their dishes, and cook their dehydrated meals.
The family experienced an earthquake when they lived in China in 2013 — a scare that convinced them to prepare for the big one in Oregon.
The only thing their kit was really missing was a skillet, essential because one of their emergency food boxes contained dozens of silver packages of pancake mix. Shea loves pancakes. On Saturday, with some help from Megan, he poured some mix into a soup can and cooked it on the fire.
Shea Stephens eats a pancake cooked in a tin can on a fire in the backyard of their house in North Portland. Over the weekend, the Stephens had to live off what they could find and cook, without using power sources or running water.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
“’The cancake!” he announced proudly, taking a bite of the mostly cooked result. "And I invented it by the way. No credit goes to mom.”
"I get some credit because it's my can," Sadie argued.
But the Stephens aren't just worried about feeding their own kids. They want to help their neighborhood after a disaster. John has a chainsaw and crowbar for search and rescue operations, and he and Megan plan to share their supplies with people who need help — an idea the kids weren't sold on.
"What If another family said, 'We forgot to pack food. Can we hang out with you guys?'" John proposed.
"No!" Sadie said. "Not happening. I'd slam the door!" Shea agreed.
"What if Ezra came over? What would you do if your best friend came over?" John said, gently pressing the kids.
Sadie thought about it. "I'd give her half my chicken noodle soup," she said.
On Sunday, John and Megan conducted an informal neighborhood survey, to find out who on their block had prepared and who would need help after a real quake.
"I think I could be helpful with food, because I'm a single mom who shops at Costco," said Barb Fisher, the first neighbor they visited. "But not water. I mean, I probably have 15 pounds of pasta in the basement but how would we cook it?"
John told Fisher that in a real emergency, she could drain her hot water heater and use that water.
"Oh, that's exciting. I feel like I could contribute!" Fisher said, relieved.
Next, the Stephens talked with Myrna Huffman, an 87-year-old neighbor who lives alone. She had plenty of food and cat food, but again, no bottled water.
"Well, if there's a big earthquake, we're coming over to see what you need, OK?" Megan assured her.
Over the course of the day, Megan and John talked to five of their neighbors. John was shaken by what he learned: No one has water stored.
"I wasn't expecting them all to be unprepared," he said.
John and Megan decide it would be worth getting rain barrels and building a water catchment system that could hold hundreds of gallons, instead of dozens.
But John also realized he needs to encourage more of his neighbors to prepare. There's only so far the family can stretch their own knowledge and supplies.
"If we have a great kit and we come into a community where we're one out of 100 families that's prepared, it's going to have some pretty bad consequences," he said. "I'm worried about what that's going to mean."
