Without question you should stay inside. FEMA says:
For example, some people were injured or killed in Christchurch in February’s 6.3 quake as they exited buildings whose parapets were collapsing onto the street. Stay put is the best advice. Once the shaking stops, then carefully exit the building until you can be sure it is safe to re-enter.
Door frames move, too. You’re better off either under a table, holding onto the legs of same; or in a confined area such as a hallway or bathroom, where an upper floor is not as likely to come down on you and flying objects are less likely to clock you. Running outside exposes you to flying glass from windows, flying bricks from buildings, earth cracking open, moving cars that were previously parked, out-of-control cars that were previously moving in a straight line, whipping trees, and falling powerlines. Exit after the shaking stops and, if it has been a serious quake that has caused damage to a building’s interior/exterior or is observable in other nearby buildings, do NOT re-enter a building until after it has been cleared for occupancy by qualified inspectors.
Chefguy bonafides: participant and victim of the 1964 Alaska earthquake (9.0) and countless smaller quakes; member of an earthquake disaster relief team to Guatemala in 1976; recipient of emergency response and disaster recovery schooling for earthquakes.
Stay put. Look up to be sure there is nothing above you that may fall. The only time to move is if you are near plate glass windows. Get under something strong.
Stay in doors is you are indoors. If you are out doors move away from any buildings go to a park, onw that does not have high voltage lines running overhead.
If you go outdoors in a area with tall buildings you are in more danger of something falling on you than if you stay indoors. With a major earthquake figure there will be no emergency services, they may not be able to get around.
Do not know about other states but in Calif with a major shake the elevators will shut down and if possable go to the nearst floor above or below stop and the doors will open and stay open.
If I was on an escalator and a earth quake started I would get off and stay off. Brace yourself incase it stops suddenly.
Lived all my life in earthquake area. Experienced the 1989 quake in N. Cal. Certified High Rise Fire Safety Director.
In less severe quakes, these outdoor measures might work. In a major quake, you’re really not going anywhere. When the Alaska quake started, I bolted out the front door of our house, and that’s as far as I got. The rolling motion knocked me off my feet and I rode things out lying on the ground watching parked cars slide back and forth, tires squealing. I think about the only thing one could do in that circumstance would be to roll into a ball and hope for the best.
Trying to do any kind of running in a significant earthquake is a bad idea. I’m reminded that the only two people who died in a 6.5 earthquake in Paso Robles, CA a few years ago were killed while running outside when the masonry of the building they had been in fell on them.
In a building built to California earthquake codes most of this advice is good. It is based on the idea that it is more likely to get hit on the head by small falling debris than, for example, an entire building made of concrete slabs to collapse floor by floor like pancakes.
In places where the codes aren’t up to snuff or geared for big quakes, you really want to get out of the building in many cases and hopefully to an area clear of falling debris. But inside, there is no “table or desk” sturdy enough to protect you from a multi-ton concrete slab falling straight down. Buildings in California can’t be constructed like that, buildings in some other places can. In those types of constructions if you can’t get out in time then the recommendation is to crouch next to something solid, not under it. If you are crouching next to a sturdy desk for example, you can only get crushed as far as the thickness of whatever is left of the desk, but if you are under the desk you can get crushed completely. And a small area of air space will be created in the angle between whatever is left of the desk and the slab resting on top of it (and you) allowing possible survival in the rubble if you manage to survive the collapse.
If these responses are the advisable ones, certainly building managers were ignoring them. Major buildings were evacuated right and left, including I believe the Empire State Building.
I think I heard [note unsubstantiated rumor here] that the Pentagon was evacuated.
FWIW, I live in NYC, downtown, and only found out about it on the radio. Didn’t feel a thing.
Not really sure why this is an etiquette question?
It’s definitely a safety, rather than etiquette lesson.
In New Zealand, we used to have earthquake drills at school. We were instructed to stay indoors and get under our desks.
Nonsense! If it will protect us against nuclear weapons, it can stop mere concrete slabs!
Actually, that link does offer some insight on earthquake safety.
The evacuations were done after things stopped shaking, which is the correct action to take. Imagine trying to herd panicked crowds while the ground is moving and the building is swaying. After evacuation, an inspector should check to make sure there aren’t light fixtures ready to fall, or any obvious cracks in the building. For a really major earthquake, those people would theoretically not be allowed back into the bulding, possibly for several days or even weeks, depending on how long it takes a certified building inspection team to get to the building for evaluation. A 5.8 quake is not that serious a shaker in the US where building codes are observed (unless the epicenter is close by and close to the surface).
You are correct, I was only thinking of etiquette in the terms of “proper way of doing things”, when etiquette is actually the “proper way of doing things in polite company”.
I thank all those wonderful dopers who were able to read beyond my misuse of the word and give advice.
Maybe there’s a difference for earthquakes that occur before or after Labor Day?
Overall, that was probably a poor choice. The problem exiting a building is the falling debris, especially glass shards. It’s a tough call when the world is shaking and you feel like you’re just seconds from the really big shake that’s going to bring the building down. The better money is on hiding under something sturdy, like a desk, away from the windows and objects that might fall off the wall.
Incidentally, this is what they are showing on the news here in CA regarding the VA earthquake….
We do understand, really.
Using earthquake etiquette is sort of like getting in airplane crash position.
Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
