Where to Go During an Earthquake

Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP’S ARTICLE ON ‘THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE’

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, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene — unnecessary.

Simply stated, 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 – NOT under them. This space is what I call the ‘triangle of life’. The larger the object, the stronger, 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.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1. Most everyone who simply ‘ducks and covers’ when building 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 bed, 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.

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.

Spread the word and save someone’s life…

The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

‘We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly’

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did ‘duck and cover,’ and ten mannequins I used in my ‘triangle of life’ survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the ‘triangle of life.’ This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

On Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 join me at the Yorba Linda Community Center for the Orange County Fire Authority after action report regarding our November Firestorm.  To View the report go to: http://www.ocfamedia.org/_uploads/PDF/fcfaar.pdf
The OCFA has offered to individually look at your home landscape and help you improve or develop a plan including defensible space and fire resistant plantings. To take advantage of this opportunity go to their website at: http://www.ocfa.org/
On this site there is also information on their new program “Ready, Set, Go”. This is worth reviewing to help you harden your home and to recognize when to evacuate and when to stay during a disaster. 

On February 11, 2009, the OCFA presented the Wildland Action Plan Video during their “Leave Early or Stay and Defend” presentation. To view this video go to the OCFA website at: http://www.ocfa.org/ocfamain.asp?pgn1=8
The scenes from this video are from the Yorba Linda Fire November 15, 2008.

• no flip flops, shorts or short sleeve shirts
• Do not place a wet cloth over your face- the heat of the fire will potentially cause a burn
• protect your face with a dry bandana and protective glasses
• Wear long sleeved shirts and pants and sturdy shoes
• Wear a hat

• Fill bathtubs/ sinks with water- you may have your water supply cut off.
• Remove light draperies from the window
• Close all windows, outside doors
• Block all openings into the house- vents, cracks under the garage door and the floor,etc
• Run a hose from your washing machine inlet rather than bring a hose from the outside creating an opening into the house
• Bring in propane tanks or put them into your pool
• Move highly combustible furniture/ objects away from your home (patio furniture)

A sign up for the CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) Program was available at the OCFA “Leave Early or Stay and Defend” program. The response was overwhelming! If you are interested in participating in this program and did not have a chance to sign up at this event, please call City Hall 714-961-7100. The first classes are anticipated to be held the beginning of March. more information will follow.

Upon request from this community after the November fire storm, OCFA will present a “Leave Early or Stay and Defend” seminar on February 11, 2009, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.. The seminar will be held at the Yorba Linda Community Center and  will provide invaluable information to those who wish to leave their property and relocate safely or prepare in advance to stay and defend a property.  Orange County Animal Control has also been invited to discuss animal-related issues.