Stay Safe During an Earthquake
In this article, we provide you with some advice you should follow to keep yourself and your family secure during an earthquake. In most cases, you can protect yourself if you immediately DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON.
- DROP down to the crawl position before the earthquake shakes pushes you down. Being on this position makes you safe from from falling but still permits you to move around if you need to.
- COVER your most vulnerable parts (head and neck) (and if you can, cover your entire body) underneath a strong desk or table. If none is available, get down near an interior wall or next to a short furniture that won’t flip on you, and cover your head and neck together with your arms and hands.
- HOLD ON to your table or desk (or to your head and neck if none is available) until the earthquake shaking ends. Be ready to move with your shelter if it moved with shaking.
If you were inside, stay where you are
DO NOT run to any other room or to the outside during an earthquake. There is a lower chance that you get injured if you stayed where you are.
Follow these next advice to decrease the possibility you get hurt:
- If there is a chance, move yourself within the first few seconds before shaking increases away from breakable objects (such as glass), hanging objects and other stuff that can fall on you.
- You can also grab something to protect your head and face from falling and broken debris, if any.
- If you were in the kitchen area, turn off the stove and take cover.
- If you were on your bed, stay on top of it, secure your head with a pillow. It is safer for you to stay there rather than walking on the floor as broken glass may cause your injury.
DO NOT stand in a doorway.
Modern houses are build no stronger than any other part of the house. The doorways will not secure you from the most frequent cause of injury during earthquake which is falling or flying objects (such as TVs, lamps, glass, or bookcases).
If you were outside, stay there
- Move away from buildings, utility wires, sinkholes, and fuel and gas lines. The biggest danger from falling debris is just outside doorways and close to outer walls of buildings.
- Move to an open area away from trees, telephone poles, and buildings. Once there, get down low and stay there until the shaking stops.
- The areas near the outside walls of a building is the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades, and architectural details are often the first parts of the building to collapse. Stay away from this danger zone.
Finally tell your beloved one about those tips to make sure all of them are safe during this tough time. Let’s hope we all do not see an earthquake soon. Stay SAFE!
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