Hi guys, when I was living in Mexico City, I experienced two very strong earthquakes. I was totally unprepared, and I was really scared. The earthquakes I have felt in the past have been as a maximum of 6 on the Richter scale, so not really strong. But those two were, 8.1 and 7.1!
The first one hit us during the late night, around 11:40 pm. As usual, me and my girlfriend, we were watching TV, so it was easy to go out on the street and wait until it passes away.
The second was a different case. It hit us during the day, around 1 pm. I didn’t prepare after the first one. I didn’t check a thing, and again I got scared as hell. Trapped in the office environment and with the communication cut down due to overload. What should you do when an earthquake starts?
Finally, after this nightmare, I did my research, and I want to share with you the earthquake protocol “What to do during the earthquake”?
If you hear the earthquake alarm, don’t ignore it, follow these pieces of advice depending on your location.
What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is the shaking and vibration of the Earth’s surface. It is a natural disaster, that is related with releasing of a lot of energy that creates waves. The waves can cause a lot of damage.
What to do during an earthquake If you are inside a building?
Try to run out only if you can escape in 5 seconds or less.
If you are on a higher floor, just forget about this option and wait until the earthquake stops. Many of the injuries happen when people try to go out in a panic. Try to stay calm, as much as you can. It is scary, but you should not panic.
Get down, crawl and cover!
1. Get DOWN
Get down on the floor. Lower your body and you will be more stable. A standing person will suffer a lot more from the vibrations that the earthquake will produce.
2. Start CRAWLING
The best way to move during an earthquake is crawling. Moving close to the ground and use both your hands and legs. It is a lot easier to crawl during this natural disaster.
3. Search for COVER and HOLD ON
Search for something to cover yourself from falling objects. It should be something hard enough to protect you. A sturdy table or desktop is perfect. If there is nothing around, cover your face and get to any of the inside corners of the building.
Don’t stay close to windows, glasses, outside walls and doors, and anything that can fall on you.
Don’t go downstairs and don’t use the elevator! The stairs can easily break, you can get hurt, and the power can go down for a while. You won’t like, to be stuck in a small, dark box without knowing when the help will come. So, don’t use elevators during an earthquake.
4. Leave the building and take the most necessary stuff with you
Follow the instructions that are located on the wall of every building. Use the emergency exit route. There should be a picture on the wall, with clear signs on which doors should be used in case of disaster.
Take the most important items with you. If you have prepared an earthquake bag, with everything you could need, take it, if not go out with your most important items like documents, water, and some money.
Keep evading the elevators. There could be an aftershock, so better go down using the stairs, if they don’t have structural damages, or wait until professional firefighters come to help you.
5. Stay outside until the danger is gone
Stay outside for at least an hour. Be sure that no aftershocks are coming before you move to another place. During this time the communication might be problematic, so try to remain calm and send a message to your family or close friends when you can.
Inform yourself from the news, about the consequences of the earthquake and the current situation in the area where you are. You can get very important information.
What to do during an earthquake If you are outside?
1. Keep staying outside during an earthquake, obviously!
Don’t try to be a hero and rush to a nearby building, in an attempt to help people. You will help them by not blocking their exit route. The time to help will come after the ground stop moving and everything seems calm again.
2. Stay away from buildings, high structures, and electric poles
There is a big risk that they were damaged during the quake. You don’t want something to fall on you. The same goes if you are on foot, in a car, or in another vehicle.
Try to find an open field, like a park, where there can safely wait.
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What to do after an earthquake?
1. Check yourself about injuries
Help yourself, or find somebody that can give you first aid. Bleeding could be a very big problem, so you need to stop the blood as fast as possible.
2. Stay away from the damaged buildings
If you were in one, now is the time to leave it. Stay outside, because there could always be secondary earthquakes. They can be lighter, but they can finish an already broken building.
3. Notify all your family and friend about your status
The first minutes are full of fear and chaos. Everybody will try to call his/her dear ones. The mobile network will probably go down, and it can take hours to get them back on. Use the data on your phone or any Wi-Fi Internet around. My latest experience showed me that Wi-Fi was the most reliable option.
Write in your social networks that you are ok and check on your people. Facebook offers a good option; you can mark yourself as “Safe” and check on certain people.
As I told you, a good connection could be hard to find, so write a short public message “I am safe.” If you use Mobile Data for the Internet, it will eventually post it when it gets a signal again.
*Optional
Help the rest of the people. Maybe you manage to get out of the natural disaster without being harmed, but others were not so lucky. Try to help them the way you can. If you know CPR and how to give first aid, you can really save lives during an earthquake.
If not, but you are strong, you can help with moving debris and cleaning the route for other people to escape from the building.
You can also help those that were left homeless. Bring them tents, and blankets and help them with information about the help they can get from the government.
You can even host some people at your place until they get a place to live.
You decide where and how you are willing to help. Me and my girlfriend, we went to help families in the next neighborhood, Roma (in Mexico City), and we brought food, boxes, and clothes.
We didn’t try to enter the broken building or move heavy stones, because we didn’t feel like we can help a lot in this, and it was risky.
What to do before an earthquake?
Prepare an earthquake emergency backpack. Keep there some ID that you usually don’t use, for example, your international passport. Put some cans of dried food and a bottle of water. A good addition could be a blanket. Don’t overfill it. The idea is that it is light enough that you can grab this emergency earthquake backpack and go in a hurry when you hear the early warning earthquake siren.
Pay attention to the earthquake drills. Take the earthquake drills seriously. If you are living in an earthquake zone, you will have an obligatory earthquake drill that will prepare you for such an event. Check where the emergency exits are, and how to move in case of a disaster.
Keep your home clutter-free. The quake can start when you are at home. Keep your home tidy. Fewer objects around mean fewer potential hits and obstacles to avoid during your exit. Also, you will need a clear escape room, so don’t be messy.
*Optional
Use an earthquake app. Many mobile applications can warn you about the upcoming earthquake. But, you need always to be connected to the internet, to use them. And also they might use your private data for their purposes. Better just pay attention to the earthquake warning siren in your area. If you hear it, start acting.
What country has the most earthquakes?
The single country, that has suffered the most earthquakes is China (according to Statista). The countries that suffer earthquakes often are:
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China
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Indonesia
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Iran
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Turkey
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Japan
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Peru
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USA
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Italy
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Afghanistan
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India
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Greece
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Mexico
How is an earthquake caused?
The main cause of earthquakes is the sudden release of stress (energy) along faults in the earth’s crust. The earth has many tectonic plates and they are in movement. Their constant actions and interaction with each other cause build-ups of pressure. The pressure gets so high, that in one moment the energy needs to be released. That tectonic pressure, created from the move of the tectonic plates causes earthquakes.
There are 3 main types of tectonic movements:
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Trust fault (convergent). The Tectonic plates come together.
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Normal Fault (divergent). The tectonic plates move apart.
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Strike-Slip Fault (transform). The tectonic plates move past each other.
Can an earthquake cause a tsunami?
Yes, an earthquake can cause a tsunami (tidal wave). A large, strong, and shallow earthquake, with an epicenter on the ocean floor, can start a tsunami wave. There are regions where tectonic plates meet, and the movements they do doing the years cause such a disaster. A tsunami wave can travel as much as 1000 kilometers (the Great 1960 Chilean tsunami)! That temblor was 9.5 magnitude (Richter), and usually, it must be at least 7.5 magnitudes to cause serious damage.
Can an earthquake cause a volcanic eruption?
Yes, an earthquake can cause a volcanic eruption. A strong temblor, with a magnitude higher than 6 (Richter) can cause a volcano to erupt if the epicenter is close enough. This happens, if the volcano was already close to erupting anyway. If it had enough magma and sufficient pressure.
Can a volcanic eruption cause an earthquake?
Yes, a volcanic eruption can cause an earthquake. The pressure that volcanoes generate, together with the vibrations from the moving magma can affect the surrounding rocks and trigger a small earthquake. Such earthquakes are called volcanic earthquakes or volcanic tremors.
Can an earthquake be predicted?
No, people cannot predict earthquakes, no matter what technology they use. No device or equipment can predict a tremor. The only type of devices that scientists use currently is to measure it and warn. The earthquake waves move slower than the communication, so you can get an early warning. But it is based just on the distance, from the epicenter to the place where you are.
Conclusion
Earthquakes are unpredictable, even having applications for early warning, still, most probably you will get scared. Just try to remember those tips and stay couscous before, during, and after an earthquake. Like this, you will have better chances of survival.
Other articles that can help you with survival tips:
"Volcano, when the Hell breaks loose"
"Tsunami, the wave that you don’t want to see"
"Hurricane, what to do when it approaches?"
"Tornado, where and how to hide?"
"Avalanche, Surviving natural disasters"
Official sources used for this article:
https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/get-ready/quakesafe/what-to-do-in-an-earthquake
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earthquakes/en/
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-earthquakes-trigger-volcanic-eruptions
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-you-predict-earthquakes
https://www.statista.com/statistics/269648/number-of-earthquakes-by-country/