WFET advises in Earthquake situations
«Drop, Cover, and Hold On» will reduce the injury and death during earthquakes.
Do this:
Before an earthquake – Prepare
Get ready to survive and to recover fast.
- Prepare, plan and practice.
Four steps:
- Securing your home against dangers
- Plan what to do
- Organize everything (pack needed things, have food ready and prepare your documents)
- Practice “the earthquake drill”
The Earthquake drill
- You get an warning of an earthquake
- If time
- Move quickly to the safe zone outside
- If no time
- Find a safe zone where you are
- If time
- Earthquake
- You feel movement
- Scream “Earthquake!”
- Stay calm
- Remember what you have to do
- Act at once!
- Stop whatever you are doing
- Go directly into you earthquake protection drill
- Do not wait to see if the earthquake is strong
- If inside, stay inside! AND if outside, stay outside!
- Drop to the floor
- Down on your four legs
- Drop before the earthquake drop you!
- Hold a hand or a solid item over your head as a protection
- Down on your four legs
- Crawl to cover
- You will not fall since you got better stability on the floor
- Move quickly
- Stay away from windows and external walls
- Move quickly to the place where less can fall; where you are safest
- If possible and time
- Switch of the gas
- If no cover:
- Cover your head and neck with your hands
- Crawl to an INTERIOR wall
- Exterior walls normally collapses first
- Cover under something solid;
- Things WILL fall; the cover protects
- A desk or a table
- Something that will not break that easy
- Hold on
- Stabilize the item you are covering under.
- Stay on your knees, bent forward with the head down
- Protects better vital organs
- Close eyes and mouth if a lot of dust
- Stay here until the shaking stops
- It is dangerous to move during the shaking!
- Special cases
- If in bed
- Stay there
- Turn with head down
- Cover your head with a pillow
- If you are in a VERY badly constructed house:
- Skip “Drop, Cover & Hold on”
- Go directly outside to a safe area
- If outside
- Exterior walls is a dangerous place; many things might fall
- Under windows and extras on houses is a danger zone
- When in a safe area. Drop down, protect head and close eyes and mouth
- Exterior walls is a dangerous place; many things might fall
- If in a car
- Stay there
- Park on a safe spot and wait
- If in a high building
- Drop, cover and hold on
- Move away from windows and outside walls
- Stay in the building!
- Light will go and sprinkler system might be switch on: STAY!
- Never use elevators
- If in a crowded indoor public place
- Drop, cover and hold on
- Move away from areas where object might fall
- Do not panic
- Do not run for outside
- If in a stadium or theatre
- Stay at your seat
- Protect head with your arms
- Near the shore
- Drop, cover and hold on
- More than 20 seconds indicates perhaps a TSUNAMI is created
- Go to higher grounds minimum 30 m high and 3 km inland
- Often better to walk and run than by car
- Below a dam
- The dam might break, Take care!
- Flooding
- The dam might break, Take care!
- If in bed
- Earthquake stops
- Move quickly out to the safe zone
- The earthquake is normally over in less than 1 minute
- Take care due to the potential damages of the earthquake
- Do not enter building before it is inspected
- It might have some severe damages
- Note
- Act early, act fast and don’t panic!
- Have a primary escape route, and alternative escape routes.
- Always have an emergency safety kit
- Learn how to use it
- Houses collapses partially very seldom, and a full collapse VERY seldom
- 1 out of 1000
- Focus on important things when you reconnect and restore daily life
- You cannot plan when an earthquake hits!
- Estimated time before help arrives after an earthquake is 72 hours
- Always know the safe zone
- Have two pre-fixed meeting places for your family
- A distant contact person often functions better
- Use a person far away as contact.
- Everybody contact the same person
- Never do!
- Run outside or to other rooms during an earthquake
- Items can fall and hurt you
- Stay where you are
- Don’t stay in the doorway
- Go under a table
- Don’t trust 100% “the Triangle of life”
- Short: hide NEXT TO something solid that will protect you if the roof collapses
- Because
- Not all buildings collapses
- If they collapse they will not crush all the furniture
- Things will move and fall all around; not only the roof
- It is difficult to plan a building collapse
- It is difficult to move during a shake
- Previous experiences
- Colour your selection method
- Everything went well before; false safety is dangerous
- Follow the drill; ALLWAYS
- Colour your selection method
- Run outside or to other rooms during an earthquake
…AND IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN!