Earthquake advice a bit shaky
An email advising people against taking cover under desks during an earthquake has been labelled misleading by New Zealand authorities.
Ref. https://www.stuff.co.nz/4573884a10.html
The funny thing about earthquakes is when they hit, they last for only 5 - 20 seconds. But it seems like they go on and on and on! Some you can hear approaching; others just hit with a sudden "bang!" and there's no time to think about what to do. It helps to practice
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
The Great Southern California Shake Out! This will be interesting to experience -- my daughter's school will be participating, and I'll probably be the only one at work to join in, but I think it's important to be prepared.
Source 4
QUOTE |
At exactly 10 a.m. tomorrow, about 5 million people in Southern California will drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on at the same time. Radio stations and school p.a. systems will play a sound track of rumbling and crashing, along with a man's voice declaring, "If this were the magnitude 7.8 earthquake we're practicing for today, you would be experiencing sudden and intense back-and-forth motions of up to 6 ft. per second. The floor or the ground would jerk sideways out from under you. Look around and imagine." If this sounds weird, it's because it is. The Great ShakeOut, as it's being dubbed, is the biggest public emergency drill in U.S. history - and as such, it is a radical idea. Normally, large-scale disaster drills, which happen weekly across the country, are designed for professional rescuers, emergency managers and politicians. Not for you, and not for me. In fact, the people who matter most in a real-world emergency - the neighbors, office workers and students who do the majority of the lifesaving during big disasters - are almost never invited. California's drill, too, originally was scheduled as an exercise for only emergency officials. That exercise, called Golden Guardian, will involve about 5,000 officials, from the local police to the U.S. military, all pretending they are responding to a major quake along the San Andreas Fault. .... But most Southern Californians cannot readily imagine a quake of that scale. They haven't experienced one before, so they don't know how the g-forces will feel. The intent of the ShakeOut drill is to hijack the imagination. "Time and again, we've heard that there is a weak link between the scientific understanding of quakes and the ability of the public to pay attention and change their behavior," says Mariana Amatullo at the Art Center College of Design, one of the organizers of the event. "The goal was to find new opportunities for the public to be a little more resilient and empowered." |
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
I think this is a good idea. It gives people a chance to prepare and learn what to do if it comes true. It is like the tornado drills we have in schools and offices over here. We have to be prepared and know what to do if something like this suddenly occurs. Being prepared and knowing what to do is a major step in recovery when it does happen.