How to Protect Yourself During an Earthquake

The main thing to remember during an earthquake is to "duck and cover." Here are some guidelines to staying safe.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Portable Radios
• First Aid Kits
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Extinguishers
• Flashlights
• Flashlights

1. Stay inside and duck and cover. Get underneath a desk or table, or stand in a corner or under a doorway. Cover your head and neck with your arms.

2. Move against an interior wall if in a high-rise building with no protective desk or table nearby. Cover your head and neck with your arms.

3. Try to get into an open area away from trees, buildings, walls, signs and power lines if outdoors.

4. Pull over to the side of the road away from overpasses and power lines if driving. Stay in your car until the shaking ends.

5. Get away from shelves or other areas where objects may fall if in a crowded store or public area. Do not run for the door. Crouch and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms.

6. Stay in your seat if in a stadium or a theater. Get below the level of the back of the seat and cover your head and neck with your arms.

Tips & Warnings

• If you take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture, hold on to it and be prepared to move with it.
• Try to stay away from kitchens and garages, where there are often many objects that might fall.

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[arborwest]

on 6/21/2009 Thanks for all the great info . Tams, I like your specific info. What's up with the paper? Can you explain more or give more specifics?

[sharxbyte]

on 5/17/2009 DO NOT GET UNDER ANYTHING! This is almost a surefire way of getting crushed. Instead, lay down NEXT to something fairly solid. sure, parts of the ceiling may fall on you, but there will be relatively harmless. The reasoning behind this is that when the ceiling or walls fall, they will compress whar you are next to, but they will not be able to completely crush it. this will make somewhat of a triangle out of the floor, the fallen structure, and the object you were paying beside. if you had been under that table, you would be part of the triangle, and not inside it.

[earthshaker]

on 3/28/2009 The "triangle of life" is a dangerous concept as you cannot predict where such spaces will exist, and most earthquake injuries are caused when stuff falls on people, not when buildings collapse (especially in developed countries with good buildings). Getting under a table protects you from anything that falls or is thrown in an earthquake.

[apalmer]

on 2/1/2009 Thanks for the advice. We had a small earthquake in Ohio this year which for us was interesting since we don't usually prepare for this kind of disaster. I hope we nevr have to deal with a large scale earthquake.

[Acrylatey]

on 1/8/2009 According to the dept. of conservation, doorways should be avoided during an earthquake. As for the "Triangle of Life," there are many counter argument in its effectiveness for use in modern American buildings. The Red Cross recommends "duck, cover, and hold" and even has an official response to the "triangle."