Saturday, March 12, 2011

How to prepare for natural disasters: earthquakes and tsunamis

How to protect yourself in case of an earthquake

Preparation: In your house, anchor heavy objects and furniture that could fall, remove flammable materials, explosive or toxic. Get supplies: water, food, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher; prepare survival kits. Identify in advance the places where you could hide and protect .
When the earthquake starts be calm and act immediately!

Inside a building: stay inside the building, do not run out. Stay away from windows, mirrors, especially the large windows. Best places in the state are resistant beams of the building or furniture on the side of resistance in squat position, because the if ceiling collapses here, it can create a "triangle of life", places where you will not be crushed.

Stairs collapse first. Do not run up the stairs, do not use the elevator. Stairs can be full of terrified people. Do not jump out the window or balcony.

Inside a vehicle: Stop as soon as possible and if possible avoid stopping near buildings, trees or under bridges. If you're not in a garage, it is best to sit in the car. If you are inside a garage, leave the car immediately and squat right beside it, in case of ceiling collapsing, it creates a "triangle of life".
 
Outdoors: Lie on the ground. Do not try to flee. You might be hit or thrown into a crack appeared in the soil.

Avoid crowds. Do not run. Step away from buildings and tall trees. Watch out for falling plaster, chimneys. Do not descend into the subway, underground or in tunnels, because they could collapse.

Do not rush immediately into the house, building, wait to see what happens so you can avoid getting cautgh by a possible aftershock. This could demolish the building already cracked, weakened by the main earthquake.
 
After the earthquake: Do not leave the building immediately - check if the road is safe. Extinguish the fire. Do not use an open fire. When opening doors, cabinets, drawers and things could fall inside.

Do not light matches, lighters, electrical in case of gas leaks. Get dressed appropriately for the season. Do not take unnecessary things with you.
 
Be prepared for the aftershocks that may follow, possibly just as powerful as the initial shock

How to protect yourself in case of a tsunami:

The sea quickly retreats until almost to the horizon, a wave that then arises is getting bigger. The wave is actually a "wall" of water, after the wave has reached top form, it keeps it like that for several miles of distance. 

A tsunami is composed of many such walls and usually the first wave is not the largest. It takes 10 up 30 minutes from the moment when the earthquake triggers the phenomenon until the first wave is formed, while the entire disaster takes about an hour. The only warning is that you can refer to water withdrawal. When you notice this, you must immediately flee into the safe area, which starts a mile away from the beach in case of a settlement with flat terrain or over 50 meters in the case of a cliff or settlements with high building.

 

1 comments:

driving school solihull said...

Great insights,These considerations are very useful especially if you have already in trouble.The best way is to be calm and remember this guidelines in order to keep safe.