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You Can’t Predict an Earthquake, But You Can Prepare for One
As the recent disaster in Haiti has shown, earthquakes leave a path of destruction and chaos in their wakes. The US Geological Survey says an earthquake strikes somewhere on Earth every 11 seconds and an estimated 10,000 earthquake-related deaths occur worldwide every year.
Most earthquake deaths involve victims being crushed under collapsed structures, but people also die in tsunamis (killer waves stirred up at sea that come ashore), mudslides, fires and floods.
Many populated areas of North America sit on high-risk earthquake zones and survival often hinges on being prepared.
Precautions Can Improve Survivability
You can’t predict when an earthquake might occur, but you can take these steps to protect yourself at work and home:
- Identify the most structurally secure areas of your workplace and home. These are usually spots located away from windows and large moveable objects.
- Commit to memory these secure areas, which include spaces under desks, tables, or benches or door frames on inside walls, and be prepared to use them during an earthquake.
- Many workplaces hold earthquake emergency drills and you should do the same at home with family members if you live in an earthquake zone.
- At work and at home, ensure that you’re not sitting or standing in the path of an object such as a large bookcase or filing cabinet, which could tip over and crush you during a strong earthquake. Heavy, tip-prone objects should be bolted or wired tightly to walls. Never hang mirrors or other heavy objects above where people sit, work or sleep.
- At home, prepare an earthquake emergency kit containing non-perishable food, water, medicine, first aid supplies, batteries, a flashlight, a battery-powered or crank-powered radio, clothing and money.
- Take training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid.
What Should I do During an Earthquake?
- Immediately take cover under a heavy object such as a desk and place your hands over your head. Brace yourself using your feet. Don’t try to run outside, where you might be struck by falling debris or power lines.
- If you’re outside when an earthquake strikes, move to an open area away from buildings, trees and power lines.
- If you’re near an ocean beach where a strong earthquake may have generated a tsunami, quickly move to higher ground.
- Stay away from elevators during an earthquake, but if you’re inside one, press the buttons for all floors and get out as quickly as possible.
- If you’re in your car or work vehicle, pull over away from bridges, overpasses and buildings. Stay in your vehicle until the quake ends.
- If you’re in a crowded space, stay away from doors. People may panic and bolt, rampling others.
What to do Once the Quake Ends
- Rely only on emergency lighting or flashlights. Don’t turn on any other lights, since leaking natural gas lines could cause an explosion.
- Get outside to a clear, open area away from any structures that might suddenly collapse. This area should be designated as part of your employer’s emergency preparedness plan and all workers should know to gather there for a head count.
- Check yourself and others for injuries and call for necessary emergency help.
- Never re-enter a damaged building after an earthquake. It could be weakened and collapse without warning hours or days later.
- Expect aftershocks in the hours and days following an earthquake.
Conclusion
If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you can’t be nonchalant about your safety. Planning is critical in dramatically boosting your odds of surviving a strong earthquake.
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What to do in an Earthquake READ IT
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>> Please read this is very important, now that we have seen what has happened in Haiti, we have been doing the wrong thing.
>> Since the news is all about Earthquakes these days, I decided to forward to you these hints for survival.
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>> Have any of you heard of this before? Forget everything you've been trained to do during an earthquake!!!
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>> Boy! Is this ever an eye opener. Directly opposite of what we've been taught over the years! I can remember in school being told to, "duck and cover" or stand in a doorway during an earthquake. This guy's findings is absolutely amazing. I hope we all remember his survival method if we are ever in an earthquake!!!
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>> EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"
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>> My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
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>> I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries...
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>> I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.
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>> The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.
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>> Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.
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>> TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
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>> 1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
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>> 2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake... It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
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>> 3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
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>> 4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
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>> 5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
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>> 6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
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>> 7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
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Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
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>> 9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway... The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
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>> 10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
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>> Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
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>> "We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"
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>> In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my “triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
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>> There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV
There seems to be controversy over Doug Copp's article. I wanted to share the information from James' post so I looked for the original article, but my search brought up a number of articles with conflicting advice. Yeah, some if it was downright nasty towards Mr Copp. My takeaway is that we must evaluate our specific risks and be prepared to respond. There are good points in many of the articles. Like most things, the right answer must be very specific to the current environment not one "expert's" direction. Do some research and come up with the emergency response that fits your specific situation. Best of luck to all of us for picking more good than bad!