|
Hi all. After hearing about last nights earthquake I thought I would pass on this email we received a year or so ago, about how to survive an earthquake. We all got taught the get under your desk thing at school, but that is apparently the worst thing to do. Hopefully its something we never have to worry about, but a nice thing to have tucked in the back of your mind...
When buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
>>falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects,
>>leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the
>>"triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, and the
>>less it will compact.
>>
>>The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the
>>probability that the person who is using this void for safety will
>>not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings on
>>television, count the "triangles" you see formed.
>>
>>They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in
>>a collapsed building. They are everywhere.
>>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
>>(space) 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.
|
Earthquake Preparedness
Topic Options
Post Options
Thanks(0)
