CHAPTER NINE

EARTHQUAKES

Destruction after a Haitian earthquake. Credit: legalcode, creativecommons.org licenses 2.0 legalcode.

If you’ve ever been in an earthquake, then you know it’s an intense memory you won’t forget. The suddenness, the disorientation, the natural instinct to stay put instead of flee. In an earthquake, you’ll often experience violent shaking and sometimes a fluid rolling sensation but always you’ll be numbed and overwhelmed with the noise and tumult of things falling. And earthquakes shake more than just our homes or buildings; they also shake our psyches. Earthquakes occur when one of Earth’s plates scrapes, bumps, or drags along another plate. When does this happen? Constantly. About a half-million quakes rock the Earth every day. That’s millions a year. People don’t feel most of them because the quake is too small, too far below the surface, or too deep in the sea. Some, however, are so powerful they can be felt thousands of miles away.

A powerful earthquake can cause landslides, tsunamis, flooding, and other catastrophic events. Most damage and deaths occur in populated areas because the shaking can cause windows to break, structures to collapse, fires to start, and other dangers to happen.

Most of the world’s earthquakes occur in the twenty-five-thousand-mile horseshoe-shaped zone known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains. Earthquakes occur throughout the world all day. Most are minor and occur in common earthquake locales like California, Alaska, Mexico, New Zealand, Italy, Nepal, and Japan, but earthquakes can occur almost anywhere—Texas, New York, and even England. Around 500,000 earthquakes occur each year around the world but only about twenty thousand of these can be felt. Only one hundred or so of these earthquakes will do significant damage.

Credit: Pixabay.

Scientists believe that in the near future, the Pacific Northwest will be hit by a big one, a major earthquake that because of the intersection of great population (seven million people) and the earthquake severity (expected magnitude in the neighborhood of 9.0), will be devastating. Other heavily-populated areas around the world have a history of earthquakes, and when the next one hits, in Japan or Turkey for instance, the results will be devastating.

So what is an earthquake? An earthquake occurs when two blocks of earth suddenly slip past each other. Take a trip back to science class. Perhaps you remember that our earth has four layers: crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. Just below the surface are tectonic plates and these plates meet other movable plates, called faults. When the plates meet up, stress and friction build energy. When the plates slip and force overcomes friction, that energy is released. The resulting action, the shaking of the earth’s surface, is the earthquake (a.k.a. quake, tremor, or temblor). Some earthquakes produce foreshocks, or smaller quakes that occur before the bigger one. The largest earthquake of a sequence is the mainshock. After the mainshock are the aftershocks, the smaller (although sometimes still powerful and often destructive) tremors that follow. These can continue for an indefinite period of time.

You cannot always feel earthquakes. Not all are detectable by human senses. Some earthquakes are so weak that you need a scientist to tell you that you were in it. Others are so strong that countries are violently disrupted and cities thrashed and shaken.

When you think of where most earthquakes occur in America, you naturally think of California. That’s a fair assumption. But it’s wrong. So what was the state that had the most earthquakes in the lower forty-eight over the last few years? How about the Sooner State? Yes, Oklahoma. Oklahoma experienced 623 magnitude 3.0-plus earthquakes in 2016, 903 in 2015, 579 in 2014, and 109 in 2013. Until 2008, Oklahoma experienced an average of one to two earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater each year, making it by far the most seismically active state in the lower forty-eight.

Each year southern California has about ten thousand earthquakes. Most of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about fifteen to twenty are greater than magnitude 4.0. Earthquakes of a magnitude of 3.0 earthquakes tend to be felt, while smaller earthquakes may be noticed only by scientific equipment or by people close to the epicenter. We can say with virtual certainty that the increased seismicity in Oklahoma has to do with recent changes in the way that oil and gas are being produced (fracking).

Earthquake damage in Oklahoma. Credit: Brian Sherrod, USGS.

If earthquakes can happen in Oklahoma, they can happen anywhere, including where you live or vacation. You think it’ll never happen to you but one day, you may find yourself vacationing in San Francisco or Hawaii or Anchorage or Tokyo and you’ll be smack in the middle of earthquake territory. We’ve even experienced earthquakes in the flat plains of Texas.

What is an epicenter? Earthquake ruptures usually begin far under the surface of the Earth. The point of origin miles down is called the hypocenter. The epicenter is the point on the surface directly above the hypocenter. We all grew up hearing about the Richter scale for measuring earthquakes. But since it’s an absolute scale, it is an imprecise measurement for scientists. To fully understand things like how the earthquake affected those where the earthquake took place, scientists needed something more. The Modified Mercalli intensity scale does that and gives more precise measurements so as to better distinguish between small, medium and large earthquakes.

There are several ways to measure an earthquake, but the most common is by magnitude. Geologists rate earthquakes in magnitude. Magnitude is the amount of energy released during an earthquake. Scientists no longer use the original Richter scale, but use an updated version. Earthquakes should be referred to as “magnitude X” rather than “an X on the Richter scale.” A magnitude 6.0 earthquake releases thirty-two times more energy than a magnitude 5.0 and nearly a thousand times more energy than a 4.0. But that doesn’t mean the ground shakes a thousand times harder in a 6.0 than a 4.0, because the energy is released over a much larger area.

The Richter scale is an absolute scale so wherever an earthquake gets recorded, it will measure the same on the Richter scale. The Modified Mercalli differs because it also measures how people feel and react to the shaking of an earthquake.

There are three major factors that influence what you feel in an earthquake: magnitude, your distance from the fault, and local soil conditions. While earthquakes are caused mostly by geological fault adjustment, earthquakes are also caused by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. And earthquakes can cause disasters including tsunamis, floods, fires, soil liquefaction, avalanches and landslides, and … building destruction.

Most earthquakes happen fifty miles or less below the Earth’s surface. They can happen as deep as 400 miles below the surface. The effects of earthquakes include shaking and ground rupture (remember the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster), volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, wildfires, slope instability leading to landslides and avalanches, soil liquefaction, tsunamis, and floods from damaged dams. The horrific results of an undersea earthquake December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean initiated a series of devastating tsunamis. The tsunamis hit the coasts of most all the landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing over a quarter million people in eleven countries.

It’s difficult to figure out when an earthquake will occur because the forces that cause plate slippage happen over a large area and over a long period of time but result in forces that affect such a narrow region. We have also gotten better at reducing earthquake risks and saving lives in most at-risk locations, including Mexico. Mexico sits on top of three tectonic plates, so it’s one of the most seismically active areas in the world. The Mexican capital, Mexico City, is built on the site of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, an island in the middle of a lake. The dry lakebed the city was built upon amplifies shaking from earthquakes. The biggest factor in preventing deaths from earthquakes is employing proper earthquake-resistant building codes. We can design buildings that can withstand most any earthquake, but that is expensive and political.

Earthquake resistant cathedral in Chile. Credit: Walter Mooney, USGS.

Eliminating certain kinds of buildings, such as flat slab construction, greatly reduces life loss as well, such as flat slab construction. But Mexico has undergone significant changes to building codes and improvements including a much more precise warning system.

The difference in loss of life and property from the big 1985 earthquake in Mexico City to the most recent one in 2017, showed that the improvements worked; fewer lives were lost and more property survived. But in other countries, like Turkey and Iran, they have not made as many improvements and when they get hit by earthquakes, their earthquake resilience isn’t up to par and buildings collapse and lives are lost.

Humans can cause or trigger earthquakes as well, too. Filling dams with water, rapidly drawing water from underground reservoirs, underground nuclear testing, fracking, and enhanced geothermal-energy projects all cause so called “induced earthquakes.” As an example, due to fracking in Oklahoma, the number of earthquakes surged from a handful a year to 2,500 in 2014, 4,000 in 2015, and 2,500 in 2016.

Earthquake damage in Turkey. Credit: European Commission, DG ECHO.

One of the first questions that seismologists often get about an earthquake is whether it was a new quake or an aftershock. Most people think that an aftershock is a significantly less dangerous event. But an aftershock of a certain magnitude is no different from an independent temblor of a similar magnitude. The shaking and rupture are the same and the energy released is the same. Aftershocks can actually be more damaging than the initial mainshocks because buildings are already damaged, especially in high population centers.

Preparation

Sample earthquake preparation kit. Credit: Global X reativecommons.org/­licenses/by/2.0/

The keys to preparing for earthquakes occur prior to the event and include: better building codes, earthquake engineering, exterior and interior modification, education, creating a plan, practicing the plan, managing supplies, creating the ideal emergency kit, and readiness combined with awareness.

Building Codes and Earthquake Engineering

So much of true preparation for an earthquake comes in the form of improving building structures to follow earthquake code. This will ensure that both new and older buildings have a good chance of withstanding an earthquake. Nearly two-thirds of the buildings that fell in the 2017 Mexico City earthquake were designed with a flat-slab construction method where the floors are supported only by concrete columns. Flat slabs are now forbidden in parts of the United States, Chile, and New Zealand. In an earthquake, buildings need reinforced walls or lateral bracing and existing buildings can be modified with seismic retrofitting so as to better withstand earthquake forces.

You can’t prevent earthquakes but you can improve your home to reduce destructive impact but if you live in an earthquake-risk zone, you really need to bring in a professional to assess your potential hazards and to bring your home to seismic building standards. Ask your pro about home repair, about tips to strengthen your exterior features, such as porches, decks, sliding glass doors, canopies, carports, and garage doors.

Home Modification

You will want to modify your placement of objects in your home to minimize risk of damage to person and property. In an earthquake, gravity works and things fall. And it’s not the shaking that kills you, it’s the things that fall on your head. With that in mind, everything from your furniture to home decor will be weaponized if an earthquake hits your home. When the earthquake hits, anything not strapped down or attached to the wall will come crashing down. If you are below, you’ll be injured. Make sure your home is securely anchored to its foundation. Strengthen exterior features of the home such as porches, decks, sliding glass doors, canopies, carports, and garage doors. Discuss earthquake insurance with your agent. Depending on your financial situation and the value of your home, it may be worthwhile.

The idea of home modification is to first find safe spaces that you and your family can go to if an earthquake hits. Identify safe places where the furniture is either sturdy or is fastened to the wall, or locate an interior wall in your home. When the shaking starts, follow protocol: Drop, Cover, Hold On. Drop to the ground, Cover your head and neck with your arms, and if a safer place is nearby, crawl to it and Hold On.

Strap down your water heater. During an earthquake, a water heater is basically a missile in your basement. Locate large and heavy objects, find your breakable objects (bottled foods, glass, or china) and place them on lower shelves. If you have cabinets where you store glassware, at least secure the doors where they won’t open and spill out the contents. Anchor any overhead lighting fixtures to joists. Anchor top-heavy, free-standing furniture (bookcases, china, and cabinets) to wall studs to keep these from toppling over.

Visualize yourself in your home during an earthquake. Look for things that could easily fall and cause injury. Heavy mirrors, pictures and paintings above beds, big-screen televisions above couches or above your sitting area? Bad move. A bar with lots of big glass bottles of whiskey and vodka, scotch glasses, and decanters? Weapons of glass destruction.

Earthquake uproots trees and uplifts pavement. Credit: Pixabay.

In the basement or garage, make sure your flammable liquids stored away from potential ignition sources such as water heaters, stoves, and furnaces. Learn where the main turn-offs are for your water, gas, and electricity but also teach the others in your household in case you’re not home or are incapacitated. Earthquakes can sever a house’s pipes and/or damage electrical lines, creating situations that can easily become deadly. Many use flexible lines for their utilities to avoid breakage.

Planning

Make a plan with your family. No matter when it strikes, you’ll want a plan in place. We typically imagine an earthquake occurring while we are at home but what if it happens during school and business hours? Planning ahead of time will help all your loved ones have a better chance at survival. If it’s an earthquake with ample power and a killer epicenter, it could leave thousands of people separated from their loved ones with telecommunications systems hampered or shut down, so that it becomes difficult or impossible to track one another down via phone calls, emails, or texts. Ask a friend or relative outside the region to agree to serve as a contact person for your family; if it does become possible to send messages in some form, you’re more likely to get through to someone when their end of the communications systems is functional and the lines aren’t overloaded.

Plan how you will communicate with family members, including multiple methods by making a family emergency communication plan. Have a survival plan for your home. You and anyone you live with should have a plan to quickly get to safety at a moment’s notice. Every member of the house should know exactly what to do and where to go when an earthquake hits. They should know the safe spots in your house—under sturdy tables and against interior walls, especially in corners. They should also know the danger spots in the house—near windows and hanging objects, under big mirrors or paintings. Do you have an evacuation plan with backup routes? Have you remained informed about your community’s risk and response plans?

A bridge collapse after an earthquake. Credit: Joe Lewis.

Choose a meeting place for your family, remembering that many roads might not be open and that some bridges will be down. Choose a secondary and tertiary meeting spot as well. Find out if your city has designated earthquake gathering areas, where food, water, and first aid will be available. If you have children, learn the earthquake plan at their schools, day-care centers, camps, and after-school activities. Locate your nearest fire and police stations and emergency medical facility. Get to know your neighbors. In most disasters, neighbors become the de-facto first responders, since they are already on the scene when calamity strikes. Make sure you have access to NOAA radio broadcasts. Find an online NOAA radio station.

• Conduct practice drills every six months or so to ensure you and your loved ones know exactly what to do in the event of an earthquake.

• Download an emergency app for iPhone or Android.

• Decide beforehand how and where your family will reunite if separated during a quake and to conduct in-home practice drills. That’s the only way to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

• Teach all members of your family about earthquake safety. This includes:

• The actions you should take when an earthquake occurs.

• The safe places in a room such as under a strong desk or along interior walls.

• The danger areas, places to avoid such as near windows, large mirrors, hanging objects, heavy furniture, and fireplaces.

• Learn first aid and CPR. If one of your family members is hurt in an earthquake, basic knowledge of first aid will be a lifesaver. Take a basic first-aid course and become CPR-certified so that if the worst happens, you’ll be ready to save lives.

• Find out which of your neighbors has an elderly relative on a ventilator, which one has a generator, which one has a past as a paramedic. Knowing facts like these about each other can save lives: theirs or yours.

Emergency Supplies

Put together your emergency supplies. Keep a flashlight and any low-heeled shoes by each person’s bed. Once the shaking begins, you won’t have time or sense to locate either. You’ll want enough supplies for yourself and your entire family. You’ll want enough to last several days or a week. Why a week? You just don’t know how bad the earthquake will be or when help will arrive. You may lose electricity or water. You may have access to rescue cut off for a while.

We recommend having the supplies in several locations, including a backpack for each member and a storage container to keep out water or debris. This way you have supplies at your house in case you get stuck there and you have transportable supplies in your backpacks in case you need to leave.

Let’s start with stockpiling your supplies for your house. Fresh water is your most important supply. Buy several big packages of individual bottles of water. Store them in the basement or garage. Your earthquake disaster kit should be stored in a durable container such as two thirty-gallon open head drums (which include a bolt-on lid) since not much is likely to damage a steel drum; this means any food, emergency water, and emergency electronics stored inside are likely to make it through a major earthquake intact. Wrap up anything breakable or electronic in your blankets or coats. Not everyone has space to store big drums. You can store smaller amounts in plastic tubs or containers in closets or perhaps an outdoors shed. If you are left without electricity, in the short term, you need flashlights and portable lights. Longer, you’ll need a generator. Hand-cranked lights are great additions to your storage in case batteries go out.

Acquire and store non-perishable foods. Make sure to have lots of protein. You might consider backpack survival foods. Peanut butter crackers, powdered soups, and granola bars are ideal. Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. It’s best to have enough canned and dried foods sufficient for a week for each member of your household. Note: both water and food stores should be replaced every so often to maintain freshness. Canned goods have a normal shelf-life of one year for maximum freshness.

Prepare by filling and storing water jugs. Credit: John Markos O’Neill, creativecommons.org/­licenses/by-sa/2.0/.

Check your supplies every so often. Did a mouse get in? Did anything go bad? Are your batteries fresh? You need a gallon of water per day per person, enough for three days. If you can store more, for a week, do so. Also, pack purification tablets or chlorine bleach (sixteen drops per gallon of water) to purify water if you have to get it from other sources.

Other things you need to complete your earthquake emergency kits:

• First-aid kit. Don’t just buy your garden-variety first-aid kit from the discount store. Buy a nice one and even still, add your own flair for your own needs.

• Money, since ATMs may not be operating.

• Simple clothing for all four seasons. But you’ll want to be warm no matter what so make sure to include a jacket for each and a change of shoes and socks.

• Blankets, preferably the packaged space-age silvery folded blankets but it makes sense to include one or two normal blankets.

• Surgical masks to protect against dust kicked up from the quake.

• Fire extinguisher that is suitable for all types of fires.

• Portable radio: we suggest battery-operated radio and a hand-cranked radio. We suggest a NOAA radio.

• Extra batteries for all your electronics.

• Medication that is in date, safe from moisture, and enough for a week’s time or longer.

• Tools, including a basic tool box and an adjustable or pipe wrench to turn off gas or water, as well as utility knife.

• Baby and pet food if you have either.

• Alternate cooking source like a small charcoal or propane grill or camp stove. You may want to boil water if you have to get it from a source you don’t trust. Use of such stoves should not take place until it is determined that there is no gas leak in the area. Also, charcoal should only be burned outdoors; use of charcoal indoors will lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Bic lighters and wooden matches in a waterproof container.

• Emergency fire starter; essentially anything from an emergency candle to dried tinder in a waterproof container to dryer lint or cotton balls that have been dabbed in Vaseline. There are several emergency fire starters to choose from; having more than one helps ensure you can get a fire going with no problem.

• Non-electric, hand-held can opener. Also, a bottle opener and non-breakable eating and drinking utensils.

• Waterproof, heavy-duty plastic bags.

• Shovel.

• Toilet paper. It’s wise to store more than you think you need. Add hand wipes in case you don’t have water.

• Disinfectant and hand sanitizer. Sewer lines may have been disrupted during the earthquake. Remember that thirty-gallon steel drum mentioned above? That drum can double as emergency waste storage for any human waste. But you will have a buildup of methane gas so put the waste in plastic bags.

• Nylon rope or military spec, paracord, and duct tape.

• Portable fire escape ladder for homes/apartments with multiple floors.

• Telephone numbers of police, fire, and doctor. Also, make sure you have access to a phone.

• Copies of important papers should be kept in a fireproof container or a safe deposit box with a key you always carry.

• Spare eyeglasses and contacts, as well as contact solution.

If the disaster’s bad enough and you can’t get to your house or your house is damaged, all the hotels will be full. That means your car’s backseat becomes your bedroom. Pack protective clothing, rainwear, and bedding or sleeping bags in your kit, as well as extra blankets and heavy clothing, including rubber-soled shoes and work gloves.

Packed emergency kits are a necessity, since a quake can leave you homeless in a matter of minutes. Have them stored right by the exit door to your home, perhaps one in your vehicle. You might not have time to track them down. You’ll still have your big storage drum in the garage.

Keep a spare set of keys by your bed, in case your other set is inaccessible or can’t be found due to the craziness of an earthquake.

Make a lanyard that holds a simple photo ID, including your address and phone number, for each member of the family. Put them on in case of emergency. For very young children, buy a set of safety tattoos that you can quickly apply to an arm or a leg to help ID an injured or lost kid. Dog tags are a must too.

Survival

Credit: David Weekly, creativecommons.org.licenses.by.2.0.

It’s not the shaking that hurts you. It’s the stuff that falls on your head. Collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects cause most quake-related injuries and deaths. Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, or appliances if a quake hits. Get under a desk or table, or hold on to a desk or table, or stand against an interior wall. You don’t want to be near exterior walls, glass, heavy furniture, fireplaces, and appliances. The kitchen is a particularly dangerous spot what with knives, blenders, coffee pots, and appliances tied into water, electrical, and gas. If you’re in an office building, stay away from windows and outside walls and do not use the elevator. The American Red Cross suggests using the drop, cover, and hold method. Drop, cover your eyes by pressing your face against your arm, and hold on. Teach children this method as well.

So the earthquake has just started and you are in the house. Drop down onto your hands and knees so the earthquake doesn’t knock you down because if it’s big enough, it will. Cover your head and neck with your arms to protect yourself from falling debris. If you sense you are in danger from falling objects, and you determine you can move safely, don’t stand and instead crawl for additional cover under a sturdy desk or table or against an interior wall.

Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors, and walls. Move as little as possible. Most injuries occur when folks are moving around, thus falling and injuring themselves with sprains, fractures, and head injuries. If you are in bed, stay there, curl up, hold on, and cover your head.

If you are in the kitchen, you want to get out. Turn off the stove or oven if you are cooking. If you can turn off the gas before you get out, do so. But get out of the kitchen.

Stay where you are until the shaking stops. Do not run outside. Do not get in a doorway as this does not provide protection from falling or flying objects, and you may not be able to remain standing.

If you’re in a crowded public place, don’t panic. Don’t rush for the exits. Get low, stay low, cover your head and neck with your hands and arms, and wait for the shaking to stop. Use stairs and not the elevator. Be aware you may hear loud alarms and you may get wet because smoke alarms and sprinkler systems often go off in buildings because of an earthquake. If you smell gas, get out of the building or your house immediately, and move as far away as possible. Before you leave any building, look up, and check to make sure that there is no debris from the building that could possibly fall on you.

Cars in a sinkhole after an earthquake. Credit: Martin Luff, creativecommons.org/licenses/­by-sa/2.0/legalcode.

If you’re outside, get into the open. Be observant of sinkholes, faults, and falling debris. Stay clear of buildings because parts of that structure may be falling; avoid power lines, street lights, big signs, or anything else that could fall on you. Find a clear spot and drop to the ground. Stay there until the shaking stops. If you are in a mountainous area watch out for falling rock, landslides, trees, and other debris that could be loosened by quakes. Wait a little bit before you move to another place because aftershocks could immediately follow right after the earthquake.

If you are driving, quickly but carefully move your car as far out of traffic as possible and stop. Do not stop on or under a bridge or overpass or under trees, but pull over to a clear location and come to a complete stop. Listen to local radio to stay informed of the latest traffic and earthquake information. You may have passengers so you need to stay calm so they will too. Avoid bridges and overpasses. Stay inside with your seatbelt fastened until the shaking stops. If a power line falls on your vehicle, do not get out. Call 911 and wait for assistance. If you are in a parking garage, treat it as though you are in a building. Get out of your car and get low, and if you can, find an interior wall to crouch beside. A garage is a risky place because of the potential for falling concrete.

Upper deck of the Nimitz Freeway in California after a devastating 1989 earthquake. Credit: Joe Lewis.

After the quake, you’re first instinct will be to go home but until you know traffic and other conditions, do not try to rush back to your home. Drive observationally and carefully, avoiding bridges and ramps that may have been damaged looking for breaks in the pavement, as well as sinkholes, fallen rocks, bumps in the road swollen bridge, ramp approaches or any other new hazards.

No matter if you are inside, outside, or in your vehicle, do not expect firefighters, police, or paramedics to be there immediately for you. They may not be available and may be taking care of a big emergency situation. You do want to alert them to your position and condition but your safety in the minutes and perhaps hours after the earthquake are up to you.

Aftermath

Aftershocks are likely and possible at any time. They can collapse weakened buildings, bridges, and other structures. Aftershocks can range from imperceptible to equal the power of the original quake itself. Each time you feel an aftershock, drop, cover, and hold on. Aftershocks occur minutes, days, weeks, and even months following an earthquake.

The aftermath of an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Greg O’Beirne, creativecommons.org.licenses.by.2.0.

Check yourself for injuries and get first aid, if necessary, before helping injured or trapped persons. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake. Don’t do anything crazy. Wait for city, municipal, state, or national relief efforts. Look for alerts on your phone and listen to the radio.

When the shaking stops, look around. If you see a clear path to safety, exit the building and find an open space away from danger. If you are at home and the earthquake has passed—time to get ready and get to work. Put on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes, and work gloves to protect against injury from broken objects. Look quickly throughout the home and outside of it for damage. If you discover problems, get everyone out.

If you smell or hear a gas leak, get everyone outside and open windows and doors. If you can do it safely, turn off the gas at the meter. Report the leak to the gas company and fire department. Do not use any electrical appliances because a tiny spark could ignite the gas. Don’t light a match or a lighter.

If the power is out, unplug major appliances to prevent possible damage when the power is turned back on. If you see sparks, frayed wires, or smell hot insulation, turn off electricity at the main fuse box or breaker. If you will have to step in water to turn off the electricity, you should call a professional to turn it off for you.

Once you’ve got everyone safe, monitor the local news reports through radio, TV, social media, and cell phone text alerts for emergency information and instructions. Be prepared to drop, cover, and hold on in the likely event of aftershocks.

Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, or heavy appliances in case of aftershocks. Listen to local officials, stay off your phone unless it’s an emergency, and don’t drive unless absolutely necessary. Learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your state and local government. In any emergency, always listen to the instructions given by local emergency management officials who know the up-to-the-minute dangers. You and your family might have to go to an earthquake-safe location previously designated by local officials, such as a nearby park. Stay calm, stay aware, and government help should be on the way soon.

Recovery in Japan after an earthquake. Credit: Tech. Sgt. Daniel St. Pierre, creativecommons.org/­licenses/by/2.0/.

You might be buried and unable to move. If you are trapped, don’t panic. Save your energy and conserve your oxygen. Tap on something, anything, where people could learn your position, especially metal. Save your voice until you hear someone for certain. Listen, conserve, tap, and listen. There are countless stories from earthquakes around the world where people were rescued days after the fact, which means that your perseverance, your calmness, and your will are all important. Teach your kids to tap on anything if they are ever trapped underneath furniture or other debris. Unfortunately, the longer you are trapped, every hour that goes by the chances of survival decrease significantly.

All too often, the earthquake rubble that traps a person becomes one’s tomb. So what are the major factors for survival for a person held hostage by earthquake debris?

• Injuries: Head trauma, broken bones, and damaged organs are the main injuries that will lead to a quicker death. Lesser injuries that are manageable, ones that don’t lead to bleeding or internal disturbance, allow survivors to last longer.

• Food and water: If you have access to food and water, your injuries are minor, and you have enough oxygen, you could survive for quite a while. Water is more important than food. Metabolism also plays a part, as does the extra fat you have stored.

• Oxygen: You have to breathe to live.

• Crush syndrome: Injured bodies suffer initially from a buildup of toxins, which causes renal damage. The toxins from the shock can cause the body to be overwhelmed and renal failure can occur. Over time, the tissue will also degrade.

• Other factors include ambient temperature, carbon dioxide levels, loss of fluids, your overall health, and your age.

• Willpower.

If you are trapped but aren’t buried, and you have a working cell phone with you, use it to call or text for help. Be pragmatic about using it in order to preserve its battery. Be alert for signs of other trapped victims, and listen closely too. Look for and extinguish any fires, a common effect of earthquakes.

Clean up dangerous spills, as gasoline can be fatal if it explodes or ignites. If you only have paper towels, use several layers of them because gasoline is harmful and is very difficult to wash off. Covering gasoline spills with some shovelfuls of sand is a good idea, as well.

Do not drink water from the sink since it may be contaminated. Sewage systems will be damaged in major earthquakes, so do not flush the toilet. Instead, shut off the water system from the main valve. Make sure that you plug up drains from sinks and bathtubs to prevent any sewage backflow.

Inspect the chimney for any damage before using your fireplace. Chimneys are especially vulnerable to damage from earthquakes and if you light a fire and the chimney has damage, that damage could lead to fire.

If you do nothing else: if you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so. Check yourself for injuries and get first aid, if necessary, before helping injured or trapped persons. Expect and prepare for potential aftershocks, landslides, or even a tsunami if you live on a coast. Each time you feel an aftershock, drop, cover, and hold on. Aftershocks frequently occur minutes, days, weeks, and even months following an earthquake. Look for and extinguish small fires. Fire is the most common hazard after an earthquake.

• Be careful when driving after an earthquake. Expect traffic and light outages and plan accordingly.

• Open closet and cabinet doors carefully since contents may have shifted.

• Take pictures of any damage to your home, both of the buildings and its contents, for insurance purposes.

• Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections.

• You should be prepared to take care of yourself and loved ones for a period of seventy-two hours (and possibly longer, depending on the severity of the earthquake). Seventy-two hours under normal circumstances is how long it typically takes for help to arrive.

• Remember to check on neighbors who may require special assistance, including infants, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

• If power is off, plan meals to use up foods that will spoil quickly or are frozen (food in the freezer should be good for at least a couple of days).

• Pets may not be allowed into shelters for health and space reasons. Prepare an emergency pen for pets in the home that includes a three-day supply of dry food and a large container of water.

Earthquake Mythology

MYTH: Dogs and other animals sense an earthquake and act differently because of it.

TRUTH: We tend to notice things discriminately. You might observe changes in animal behavior prior to an earthquake, but that behavior is not consistent, and sometimes there’s no perceptible behavior change prior to an earthquake. Confirmation bias in action. People who perpetuate this myth tend to remember the animal behavior that fits the pattern and forget about the ones that don’t.

MYTH: Earthquakes occur during earthquake weather especially when it’s hot or dry.

TRUTH: Seriously? Earthquakes occur many miles underground, and can happen at any time, and in any weather.

MYTH: Big earthquakes always occur early in the morning.

TRUTH: Neither weather nor time of day make any difference to when an earthquake will occur.

MYTH: In an earthquake, the ground opens up in a great and immediate rift and swallows cars, houses, and people.

TRUTH: Only in the movies. If the ground opened up like that, there would be no friction and it takes friction for the earthquake to happen. Can earthquakes cause settling and other ground deformation that can include open fissures? Yes, but rarely.

MYTH: The safest place to be in an earthquake is under a doorway.

TRUTH: Not true, for a couple of reasons. First, a swinging door is fairly dangerous. Second, a doorway is no more or less strong than any other place in the house. Third, people go in and out of doors in an emergency, so we expect a doorway will have some urgent traffic.

MYTH: Small earthquakes are deterrents so that the big ones don’t happen.

TRUTH: A small quake might temporarily ease stress, but they do not prevent larger tremblors.

MYTH: Earthquakes are becoming more frequent.

TRUTH: Nope. Research shows us that earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant throughout the century and have actually decreased in recent years. What may make it seem like there are more is that today, we have a greater number of seismological centers and instruments capable of locating small earthquakes that went undetected in previous years.

MYTH: There’s nothing we can do about earthquakes, so why in the world should we worry about them?

TRUTH: Just because we can’t stop earthquakes doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare properly to mitigate the damage they cause. Building modification, education, and preparation are all necessary elements of mitigation. Also, remember that standard homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage from earthquakes.

An aid worker after the Haitian earthquake. Credit: Daisuke Tsuda, creativecommons.org/­licenses/by/2.0/.

The Ten Deadliest Recorded Earthquakes

1. Shensi, China, Jan. 23, 1556. Magnitude 8, approximately 830,000 deaths.

2. Tangshan, China, July 27, 1976. Magnitude 7.5. Official casualty figure is 255,000 deaths. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000.

3. Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 9, 1138. Magnitude not known, about 230,000 deaths.

4. Sumatra, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2004. Magnitude 9.1, 227,898 deaths.

5. Haiti, Jan 12, 2010. Magnitude 7.0. According to official estimates, 222,570 deaths.

6. Damghan, Iran, Dec. 22, 856. Magnitude not known, approximately 200,000 deaths.

7. Haiyuan, Ningxia, China, Dec. 16, 1920. Magnitude 7.8, about 200,000 deaths.

8. Ardabil, Iran, March. 23, 893. Magnitude not known, about 150,000 deaths.

The aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Credit: Colin Crowley, creativecommons.org/­licenses/by/2.0/.

• 9: Kanto, Japan, Sept. 1, 192. Magnitude 7.9, 142,800 deaths.

• 10: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 5, 1948. Magnitude 7.3, 110,000 deaths.