Quake-proofing a home

[FIREd]

I have never lived in an earthquake-prone area before, but will soon.

I have read that one should take steps to secure tall pieces of furniture, upper kitchen cabinets, picture frames / mirrors, televisions, and breakable trinkets.

For those of you who live in earthquake country, have you taken steps to quake-proof your home? And if so, how? Any tip would be appreciated.

I will be living in a tall, modern building and it seems like the structure could sway significantly following an earthquake.

 

[W2R]

I lived in the SF bay area for six years a long time ago. I was young without too many possessions yet, so I'm sure others will have many more insights. The measures you list all sound sensible.

In my case, really all that I did was to keep breakables stowed away - - for example, no pretty plates or china figurines out on shelves they could fall from easily. Just look around you and imagine that someone would shake everything; you don't want anything fragile in a precarious position where it could fall and you don't want anything heavy (like a tall bookcase) to be unsecured. I had a few 8x10 pictures on the wall, and had they fallen, breaking the glass, I would have simply cleaned up the glass and replaced it later on.

I never had anything damaged by an earthquake during that time, although I experienced several. I am sure that you will, too. Most of the ones I experienced were really small, and none were big, although you never know.

 

[FIREd]

Thanks W2R.

To expand on my original post, I also would like to know things like:
What kind of picture hangers should one use?
What kind of fasteners should be used to secure a tall bookcase? Nylon straps? L-shaped brackets?
What kind of latches should be used to secure cabinets?

This is a commercial building and I assume that the interior walls have metal studs. So securing anything to the studs may not be an option.