Earthquake Safety: What To Do During an Earthquake

Most earthquake injuries are not caused by buildings collapsing. They are caused by falling objects, flying glass, and people attempting to move while the ground is shaking. Understanding that changes what the right response is.

Drop, Cover and Hold On

This is the recommendation of the USGS, the American Red Cross, FEMA, and emergency management agencies internationally. It is the basis of the Great ShakeOut drills practised by millions of people each year.

Drop to your hands and knees immediately. This position prevents you being knocked over and lets you move if you need to.

Cover your head and neck with one arm. If a sturdy table or desk is within reach without walking, get under it and hold on to a leg. If there is no shelter nearby, crawl to an interior wall away from windows and cover your head and neck. Do not try to cross the room.

Hold On to your shelter until shaking stops. Furniture moves during earthquakes; holding on keeps your protection over you.

The logic behind each step is worth understanding. You drop because staying upright during strong shaking is difficult and falling causes injuries. You cover because the objects most likely to hurt you are coming from above. You hold on because your shelter will shift.

Two pieces of advice that are wrong

The doorway myth. For decades people were told to stand in a doorway. This derived from photographs of collapsed unreinforced adobe buildings in which the doorframe was among the few elements left standing.

In a modern building the doorway is not stronger than the surrounding structure. It offers no protection from falling objects, which is the actual hazard. A swinging door can injure you. And standing up during shaking is exactly what you should avoid.

The "triangle of life". This widely circulated advice claims you should lie beside heavy furniture rather than under it, on the theory that collapsing ceilings leave survivable voids next to solid objects.

It has been explicitly rejected by the Red Cross, the USGS and emergency management agencies. It assumes pancake collapse, which is characteristic of poorly built unreinforced structures rather than modern engineered buildings. It requires you to move during shaking. And in most earthquakes the building does not collapse at all, while objects certainly fall — meaning the method removes your protection against the most likely hazard.

What to do where you are

Indoors. Stay inside. Drop, Cover and Hold On. Do not run outside — the area immediately outside a building is dangerous from falling glass, cladding and masonry. Stay away from windows, mirrors and tall unsecured furniture. Do not use lifts.

In bed. Stay there. Turn face down and cover your head and neck with a pillow. The floor between your bed and any doorway is likely to be covered in broken glass, and you are more likely to be injured crossing it than by staying put. The exception is if a heavy light fitting or object hangs directly over the bed, in which case move to the nearest clear spot.

Outdoors. Move to an open area away from buildings, power lines, trees, streetlights and signs, then drop and cover your head. Most outdoor injuries occur close to building exteriors where debris falls.

Driving. Pull over as soon as it is safe, avoiding overpasses, bridges, tunnels, power lines and buildings. Stay in the vehicle with the seatbelt fastened until shaking stops. A car provides reasonable protection from falling debris. When you drive on afterwards, watch for damaged roadway, collapsed structures and fallen power lines.

In a high-rise. Drop, Cover and Hold On where you are. Do not use lifts and do not attempt to evacuate during shaking. Expect fire alarms and sprinklers to activate. Tall buildings sway considerably by design — swaying is the structure absorbing energy, not a sign of failure.

In a stadium or theatre. Stay in your seat, drop as low as possible and protect your head and neck with your arms. Do not attempt to leave until shaking stops; crowd movement during shaking is dangerous. Then leave in an orderly way, watching for falling debris.

Near the coast. Once shaking stops, if it was strong or lasted more than about 20 seconds, move immediately inland or to high ground. Do not wait for an official tsunami warning — for a locally generated tsunami you may have only minutes, and the shaking itself is the warning.

Immediately after

Expect aftershocks. The hours immediately following carry the highest probability of the entire sequence, and an aftershock can bring down a structure the mainshock weakened.

Check for injuries — yourself first, then others. Do not move seriously injured people unless they are in immediate danger.

Put on sturdy shoes and gloves before moving around. Broken glass is the most common post-earthquake injury.

Check for hazards. If you smell gas or hear hissing, open windows, leave immediately and shut off the gas at the meter if you can do so safely. Do not use matches, lighters or electrical switches until you are sure there is no gas leak. Check for electrical damage and shut off power at the breaker if you see sparks or frayed wiring.

Use text messages, not voice calls. Text uses far less network capacity and gets through when call networks are saturated. Keep voice lines clear for emergency services.

Do not enter damaged buildings. Wait for inspection. Structural damage is frequently invisible from outside.

Expect utility disruption to water, power, gas, sewer and communications, potentially for days. This is what preparedness supplies exist for.

Listen to official information via battery or hand-crank radio. Social media during disasters carries a high volume of inaccurate reports.