Earthquake...what to do?

azabache

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A friend sent me these tips on how to survive an earthquake. I don't know who the author is but it seems like useful advice, especially for those of you who live in the northern half of the island where most of the quake activity seems to be taking place.

TEN TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

8) 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

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.

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.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Those "voids" are called the TRIANGLES OF LIFE...right next to any heavy object.

Good advice....all the way through.

HB
 

Rocky

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Great post.
The last earthquake we had here, was the 1st one for me, at least, of any significance.
It woke me from my sleep and I had no idea what to do.
For the most part, I was holding onto my mattress, trying to not get tossed, then it occurred to me that the danger came from above, and I covered my head.
Next time, I'll get the heck out of there, or lie down, whichever is more feasible at the time.
Having a plan ready in your mind, makes all the difference in the world, for survival.
 

CFA123

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May 29, 2004
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You're right, Rocky.
At least for me, there was no 'innate survival reaction' during the quake.

I was asleep in Santiago when the 'big one' and the aftershocks hit. I was aware of what it was, that it was really strong, but I never fully awoke to an alert state. Never got out of bed.

I remember thinking two things "the house is going to slide down the hill & i'll wake up next to the Gran Almirante" and "I should get out of here". Neither happened.

To this day, I remain aware of my surroundings at night when in DR & truly have a conscious thought as to my escape route - to the point of locating overhead powerlines and other things that could be a danger once I'm outside. In the case of a recent stay on an upper floor at the Centenario in the Capital, my plan was to spend the time kissing my a$$ good-bye.

With the possibility of failing structures, ruptured gas lines, etc... I intend to get to an open area whenever possible should I be in another sizeable quake.
 

Mirador

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Apr 15, 2004
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The only worthwhile preparation for an earthquate is making sure your home is seismic-proof, since it is there that typically most people spend their time. The probability of becoming a victim during a major earthquake is much like the game of musical chairs, you may be out in the open, or you may happen to be inside a structurally unsound building. Most major earthquakes occur so rapidly that by the time you realize what?s going on and decide what action to take, the destructive force of the earthquake has taken its toll. Many victims are caught asleep in their beds.
 

Gringo

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Detectors?

We have two Earthquake Detectors in our house, one in the master bedroom upstairs and the other in the kitchen downstairs.
Hopefully together they will give off a loud warning and allow sufficient time to vacate the house.
 

mommacat

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I have never heard of earthquake detectors. Living on Vancouver Island in BC, we have had our share of minor quakes. I do remember one a few years ago though. I was sitting in front of our brick fireplace and wondering where the heck I should move to. Luckily, it was nothing major, but I will never forget the sound of it. I have an earthquake prep kit in the house hope never to need it. Good advice and good reminder to update items in it.

Where would I find the detectors and are they expensive?
Thanks, Cat
 

Gringo

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I have never heard of earthquake detectors. Living on Vancouver Island in BC, we have had our share of minor quakes. I do remember one a few years ago though. I was sitting in front of our brick fireplace and wondering where the heck I should move to. Luckily, it was nothing major, but I will never forget the sound of it. I have an earthquake prep kit in the house hope never to need it. Good advice and good reminder to update items in it.

Where would I find the detectors and are they expensive?
Thanks, Cat

I bought 12 (wholesale) just after the last big one here in the DR.
I kept 2 for my home and one for my office and sold the other 9 very fast at whatever my cost was at that time (I seem to recall around $20.00 each)
They have a very sensitive pendulum movement and pick up the sound waves before the event allowing you time to escape.
Mine have gone off slightly (not full blast) indicating a tremor several miles away.

I did a google search and found the distributor here in Puerto Plata.
 
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tk toronto

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I'm sorry, maybe I'm confused, but are there actually earthquakes in the DR?!?! If so, how often and how severe?
 

Lambada

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We have an EQ detector, local distributor lives in Montellano, Puerto Plata & delivered one to our home & demonstrated how it works. Cost US$20. In the 2003 first EQ once I realised what it was I tried to get out of bed to run outside (I wasn't asleep at the time) but the force held me down so I couldn't move. Afterwards we decamped to the garden knowing the likelihood of aftershocks, sure enough second EQ came a couple of hours later. During the 2 hours we took it in turns to go into house to clear up debris from first EQ, broken bottles, smashed lampshades, water which had bounced out of loo etc.I was inside when second EQ came; didn't have time to run outside but ran to a column in lounge which had steel bar reinforcement. I found the only way I could remain on my feet and upright was to squat really low, feet wide apart and balance. Being on one's feet seemed a good idea to be able to run if things started crashing down.
In answer to how severe, how often, first was 6.2 second was 5.1 I seem to recall. That was 2003. Previous severe one was 50 years before that in Nagua. DR has lots of little ones all the time (& earthquakes too..........:laugh:
 

Mirador

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Two score and seven years ago I survived a major earthquake in a South American city, which I can only attribute to a miracle. Hundreds of people were killed, crushed, when four buildings in the immediate vecinity collapsed on top of their inhabitants. It was eight o?clock in the evening, and the family was sitting at dinner, when my mother suddently stood up and blocked the front door. She had heard that the safest place during an earthquake was under the jamb of the door, notwithstanding that we lived in the 11th floor of the building. I have yet to get over it, and I?ve researched the subject thourougly. I?ve come to the conclusion that, just like hurricanes, there are no two major earthquakes alike, and the average time before massive destruction occurs after the start of the tremors is about 20 seconds, less than it takes to recite the Hail Mary prayer.
 

Ken

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Great post.
The last earthquake we had here, was the 1st one for me, at least, of any significance.
It woke me from my sleep and I had no idea what to do.
For the most part, I was holding onto my mattress, trying to not get tossed, then it occurred to me that the danger came from above, and I covered my head.
Next time, I'll get the heck out of there, or lie down, whichever is more feasible at the time.
Having a plan ready in your mind, makes all the difference in the world, for survival.

While the roaring and violent shaking was going on, I thought about getting outside but doubted I could stand up. Also, I worried about the possibility of broken glass on the floor. I could have rolled out of bed and laid on the floor until the roaring and shaking stopped, and that is what I'll do if we have another strong earth quake.

A question I have is about which side of the bed to lie on. I could lie on the side next to the wall, or the other side. Any thoughts on that?
 

Ken

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Conflicting Information

There is a lot on the internet on what to do during an earthquake and contrary to the list that azabache got from a friend, FEMA, the City of Los Angeles, Canadian government and many others advise getting under a sturdy object and hold on.

The FEMA's list of what to do during an earthquake is similar to the others:

"If indoors

* DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON on until the shaking stops. If there isn?t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
* Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
* Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
* Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
* Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
* Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
* DO NOT use the elevators."

I need to give more thought to what I will do if we get another earthquake in the night. Staying in bed doesn't seem like a good idea because it is in a corner of two outside walls with windows. The bed is too close to the ground to get under.

If trapped under debris, FEMA advises:

" * Do not light a match.
* Do not move about or kick up dust.
* Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
* Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust."
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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THOROUGHLY disagree with the idea of staying in bed....just roll off and stay close. That 'Triangle of Life" is right there.

The rest is good info, IMO....And Ken, I have the same problem. I sleep on the wall side and she sleeps on the open side...In our new bedroom we'll both have escape routes...with night tables, flashlights and whistles....right there. And water bottles.

HB
 

Lambada

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Rolling off the bed is fine if you can. In the 2003 earthquake that's what I tried to do & I really did try. I could get my legs to roll but not the top half of my body, which is of course the heavier part ;) It was really quite strange, as if a force was sitting on my chest holding it down. I guess I'll just have to keep practising in non-earthquake conditions so it'll seem like second nature when the next one comes.
 

Ken

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Probably what will happen, after we have prepared and practiced for a earthquake in the night is that the next one will come at 11 am.
 

Conchman

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The island is at the northern edge of the Caribbean Plate and earthquakes are common.

Caribbean Plate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tsunamis are a possibility as well.

WHOI : Oceanus : Tsunamis in the Caribbean? It's Possible.


Generally speaking, 'big' ones occur around every 50 years in the DR. But one could happen tomorrow even though we had a big one in 2003. Or no big one could happen in 300 years.

When I moved here in 2001, I didn't know either they had earthquakes here and I got a rude awakening one Sunday night in 2003 when my concrete garage collapsed next to my bedroom window, a few seconds after I thought a plane was crashing nearby.
 

Chris

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... I didn't know either they had earthquakes here and I got a rude awakening one Sunday night in 2003 ...

Ditto! and I could not roll off my bed because my bed was rolling! It was dark and I did not know where I was, where my bed was going, where my bedside table was on the way to, or what my name was .. :laugh: