During an earthquake --downstairs or upstairs?

Question

So my mom was talking about how someone survived an earthquake because they were on the 3rd floor (the building collapsed straight down, so they ended up level with the ground when it stopped).

In the event of an earthquake, should you a) head downstairs, b)head upstairs, c)stay put and take cover or d) head outside? What do you do if you're on the 10th story? or if you're in the basement?

Answer 1

have a look at this -

www.videojug.com/interview/in-the-even...

Answer 2

During the earthquake that happened a coupe days ago in CA, i was in bed.

Sleeping calmly.

Peacfully.

So i say,

BE IN BED.

(:

Answer 3

The best advice is to get in an area where you can be safest.  Under a doorway or under a big strong desk especially if you are in the lower floors.  If you are up on the 10th floor, find a safe place to ride the earthquake through and then head for the stairs and get out of there, especially if it was a big quake.  If you are in the basement, get as close as you can to the exit side and again try to be under a strong supporting surface.   If you can run outside, watch out for tree branches, breaking windows and down power lines.  

Answer 4

You should stay at the top floor. That's because the earthquake starts on the ground. The people on the first floor will get the most injuries.

Answer 5

If you are in basement go out to open ground.If you are in ten story just move to a safer place.To know what you should do during earthquakes read this.

PROTECTION DURING EARTHQUAKES

The following are some of the important precaution to be observed to save our life during an earthquake. Even though we do not have fool proof system to fore warn earthquakes some of the changes in nature or in the behaviors of animals and birds may help to decide the situations.

Before an earthquake.

Have a battery powered radio, flash light, and first aid kids in your house ,

Make sure every one knows where they are kept ,

Lean first aid; teach how to stop electric main and gas supply ,

Don’t keep heavy objects in high shelves ,

Fasten heavy appliances to the floor, and anchor heavy furniture to the walls ,

Plan for your family for reuniting after an earthquake if anybody separated ,

Urge your school teachers to discuss earthquake safety in the class rooms, and ask them to conduct drills ,

Find out your office has an emergency plan, know your responsibility at your works during an emergency .

During an earthquake.

Stay calm if you are indoors, stay out if you are out of buildings. Many injuries occur as people enter or leave the buildings.

If you are indoors , stand against the a wall near the center of the building, or get under a sturdy table  keep some cushion on your head, Stay away from windows and outside doors, if you are in a high rise building stand against a support column.

If you are in outdoor  stay in the open place , keep away from over head electric wires. and bridges,

Don’t use open flames, if you are in a moving vehicle stop away from over bridges and stay inside the vehicle still earthquake stops.

After an earthquake.

Check yourself and nearby people for injury, provide first aid,

Check electric and gas connection,

Turn on your radio or T.V for emergency instructions, reduce the use of phone lines it may be required for conveying some important messages.

Stay out of damaged buildings,

Wear chapels and gloves to protect against shattered glass and debris.

Stay away from beaches and water front areas where Tsunami could strike, even long after the shaking has stopped.

Have one earthquake alarm in your house.

Answer 6

I'll take Cindy's advice to heart.

Answer 7

Although I am going to answer your individual questions, I am also pasting in all the survival tips, along with the reasons for them.  Don't get on the stairs.  If you are upstairs, stay upstairs and lie down and curl up by the foot of the bed.  If you are on the ground floor and can get outside quickly, do it.  If you are on another floor, lie down and curl into the fetal position next to a piece of furniture (bed, sofa) that will leave a gap beside it if it is crushed (not a tall one that will fall over on you).  The article didn't say anything about in a basement, so I'll see what else I can find.  Every other site gave advice the opposite of Mr. Copp and no one said what to do if you are in the basement.  However, since he has been going in and finding the bodies and/or survivors, if I find myself in an earthquake I will follow his advice.  Since he doesn't say about the basement, I would guess you should be next to the wall and a piece of furniture or something that will leave a space beside it when crushed.  Also, stay as far away from the furnace and water heater as you can.  If you have the chance, access, and know-how, turn off the gas, so you don't get caught in a fire.  Prior to an earthquake, plan where you would take shelter in each room and find out where the gas shutoff valve is located and how to shut it off in case you are near it when a quake starts.

"Bienvenido Macario sends this: My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world’s most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

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.  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. Spread the word to everyone YOU care about and save someone’s life!"  

Read the home page of the World Association of International Studies (WAIS) by simply double-clicking on: http://wais.stanford.edu/