RESTRAIN DESKTOP COMPUTERS AND APPLIANCES
Protecting Your Property from Earthquakes
FEMA
April 2008


The tremors caused by even minor earthquakes can easily move 
personal computer systems, stereo systems, television sets, and 
other small appliances that typically sit on desks, tables, and 
countertops. If they fall, they can be damaged beyond repair. 

You can protect desktop computers and other small appliances by 
restraining them in a variety of ways. The figure shows three 
different ways. Methods such as using hook-and-loop material 
(Velcro, for example) require no tools. Others, which include using 
chains, cables, flexible nylon or elastic cords ("bungee" cords, for 
example), will usually require simple hand tools. 

BENEFITS OF UTILIZING THIS MITIGATION STRATEGY

* Helps to prevent damage to computers and appliances

* Helps to prevent injuries to occupants

TIPS 

Keep these points in mind when you restrain desktop computers and 
appliances: 

* Make sure that the desk or table the appliance sits on is not so 
light that it can be easily overturned. If it is, and you can't move 
the appliance to another location, consider anchoring the desk or 
table to the floor or wall. 

* You can anchor the ends of chains, cables, or elastic cords to 
either the wall or the surface of the desk, table, or counter using 
eye-hooks, rings, screws and washers, or other types of mounts. 

* If you want to use a wall-anchored chain, cable, or cord, attach 
it to a closed eye-hook screwed into the wall or to a wall mount 
(such as a ring or plate) attached with screws. Make sure the eye-
hook or screws are long enough to penetrate not only the wall but 
also the studs behind it as well. 

ESTIMATED COST 

Restraining a single desktop computer or appliance with one of the 
methods described will cost about $50, depending on the amount of 
hardware required. Using hook-and-loop material would be the least 
expensive method. Using chains or cables would be the most expensive 
method, but may be necessary for heavy items. 

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

FEMA 74, Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage: A 
Practical Guide, Third Edition, September 1994, 
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1574. 

FEMA 232, Homebuilders’ Guide to Earthquake-Resistant Design and 
Construction, June 2006, 
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=2103.

To obtain copies of FEMA documents, call the FEMA Publications 
Warehouse at 1-800-480-2520 or visit FEMA’s Library online at 
http://www.fema.gov/library.