# Earthquake ettiquete **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805 "2011-08-23T18:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/1 "2011-08-23T18:11:59Z")
I am in a four story building, is it better to stay inside during an earthquake or to get outside? Was going to say need answer fast, but the building seems to have stopped shaking. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/2 "2011-08-23T18:12:29Z")
I just followed the guys from California. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/3 "2011-08-23T18:17:51Z")
Do you live in the New Jersey or Connecticut area? ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/4 "2011-08-23T18:19:17Z")
North Carolina ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/5 "2011-08-23T18:20:59Z")
We had a nice ride here on Long Island. Knew what it was immediately and got the hell out of the building. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/6 "2011-08-23T18:21:57Z")
Here in northern Baltimore, it was over by the time anyone figured out what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/7 "2011-08-23T18:22:40Z")
We just felt it here in Charlotte. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/8 "2011-08-23T18:24:19Z")
Duck and cover under something sturdy, or duck and cover your head. Don’t leave until quake is over. Leave orderly, not via elevator. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/9 "2011-08-23T18:25:43Z")
Yeah, I’m from Jersey, and I too have no clue. Outside, stay inside? Elevator or escalator? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/10 "2011-08-23T18:26:18Z")
I stepped outside my office (in Manhattan) and proclaimed that we had an earthquake. No one believed me…until about 5 minutes later when the announcement came. Now my boss is calling me “intuitive”. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/11 "2011-08-23T18:27:02Z")
Was in a meeting (Bethesda, MD a couple miles north of DC)… we thought someone was hanging big pictures but quickly realized what it was. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/12 "2011-08-23T18:35:30Z")
Earthquakes don’t usually shake for very long - say, a minute or two. It’s not likely that you could get from the fourth floor to the outside before most of the commotion had stopped. If you tried to get out, you’d be moving around under light fixtures, windows and who knows what else. Heck, being trampled by other people might be the biggest danger. As you get outside, there’s danger of being hit by glass, brick, roof tiles, etc. falling from the building. As Philster says, you should stay put and find something sturdy to get under. Growing up in CA, we were told to look for sturdy tables first and to stand in a door frame if you couldn’t find anything to get under. Door frames are structurally strong and less likely to have shelves or hanging things nearby. It’s a good idea to face away from any source of glass in case it shatters. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/13 "2011-08-23T18:42:44Z")
Thank you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/14 "2011-08-23T18:46:02Z")
I was so close to the building exit that it was an option I couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/15 "2011-08-23T19:30:41Z")
Closets are generally pretty sound, a small space with a doorway. By personal experience, riding a bicycle is a good way to miss out on a quake. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/16 "2011-08-23T19:33:59Z")
Women and children first. If they make it, leave. If not, climb over their corpses. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/17 "2011-08-23T19:43:26Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Yeah, I’m from Jersey, and I too have no clue. > > Outside, stay inside? Elevator or escalator? Elevators may stop working, trapping you inside. And when an escalator goes badly wrong, it’s a big meat grinder. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/18 "2011-08-23T19:54:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > when an escalator goes badly wrong, it’s a big meat grinder. I thought when an escalator went bad it became steps? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/19 "2011-08-23T20:12:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I thought when an escalator went bad it became steps? Yeah, but I can see where in a REALLY bad quake it could start coming apart and people fall into the mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805/20 "2011-08-23T20:15:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I thought when an escalator went bad it became steps? That’s what happens when an escalator goes mildly wrong. or (to rephrase) goes wrong in the best way. As Mangetout says, when one goes badly wrong, it becomes a meat grinder. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-ettiquete/593805.md?page=2)