- Drop to the floor. If at
night, get off the bed, as many people experience hip
injures when they stay on top of the bed.
- Stay away from exterior walls,
windows, exterior doors, and anything glass. Take cover under a solid
piece of furniture or next to an interior wall corner. Cover your
head and neck with your arms to minimize the risk of
serious injury.
- If under the solid piece of
furniture, be prepared to move with it. Stay where you
are until the shaking stops.
Actions to Take Just After An Earthquake
- Inside
- As soon as the shaking has stopped,
select your foot placement carefully, watching
for items that may have fallen or broken. If you don't have on
shoes, put on a sturdy pair to avoid cuts
from broken glass or sharp edges.
- If power is out, only use a flashlight. Do not
use candles or open flame as a source of light as there may be
gas leaks in your house or around it.
- If you smell gas, leave immediately and
call 911 from outside or next door. If gas is leaking and you know how, turn off the
source of gas at the main outside do so, and, if not, call the gas company
from outside your home. Do not make any phone calls
inside the house with this condition.
- If there is an electrical sparking
condition within the house, go to the breaker box and turn off
the main breaker at the top or pull the main fuses.
Don't not attempt the remove the glass-covered meter on the
side of the house. Only the power company is equipped to
handle those.
- Get your battery-powered radio and move
outside before turning it on. The same is true for a
cell phone. Either could potentially be the trigger for
a gas explosion. Avoid using the cell phone unless
absolutely necessary to enable emergency traffic to get
through. Otherwise the cells towers become overloaded.
- Outside
- Watch for downed power lines and stay
well clear (at least ten feet, more for bigger lines) of any
lines that may be on the ground. Treat all lines as if
they are live and dangerous. Any outside power lines
have the potential to kill or serious burn someone
- Be prepared for other shocks, which may
follow within minutes or hours. They may be either
larger or smaller. The best place to be is outside for
these.
- Help injured or trapped neighbors but
leave the high risk situations to the specialist
- When returning to the house
- Open closet and cabinet doors carefully,
as items may have shifted inside and may be leaning against
the door.
- Clean up spills of hazardous or
flammable liquids immediately and place whatever you used to
clean up the spill in the yard and away from any
structure.
