What to do in an earthquake
Drop, cover and hold on. Get down on your hands and knees before the shaking knocks you down, cover your head and neck under a sturdy table if one is within a couple of steps, and hold on to it until the shaking stops. Do not run outside during the shaking: most injuries in earthquakes come from falling objects and from people moving while the ground is moving.
During the shaking
The advice differs by where you are, and two of the versions are the opposite of what instinct suggests.
| Where you are | What to do |
|---|---|
| Indoors | Drop, cover under sturdy furniture, hold on. Stay where you are. Do not go outside and do not stand in a doorway. |
| In bed | Stay in bed, turn face down and cover your head and neck with a pillow. You are more likely to be injured crossing a dark room over broken glass. |
| Outdoors | Move away from buildings, streetlights and power lines, then drop to the ground and stay there until the shaking stops. |
| Driving | Pull over as soon as it is safe, away from overpasses, bridges and power lines, and stay in the vehicle with the handbrake on. |
| In a wheelchair | Lock the wheels, lean forward, and cover your head and neck with your arms or a book until the shaking stops. |
| Near the coast, after strong shaking | When the shaking stops, move inland or to high ground immediately. Do not wait for an official warning; the shaking is the warning. |
The doorway advice is out of date. It came from photographs of adobe houses where the door frame was the only part left standing. In a modern building a doorway is no stronger than the wall around it, and it will not shield you from anything falling.
The "triangle of life" advice that circulates online, telling people to lie beside furniture rather than under it, is rejected by USGS, the American Red Cross and every national emergency agency that has examined it. Follow drop, cover and hold on.
After the shaking stops
- Expect aftershocks and drop, cover and hold on again when one arrives. The largest aftershock is typically about one magnitude below the mainshock, which after a magnitude 7 means a damaging earthquake in its own right.
- Check yourself for injuries before helping anyone else.
- If you smell gas, leave and shut the supply off outside if you can reach it safely. Do not use switches or naked flames.
- Put shoes on before walking anywhere. Broken glass causes a large share of post-earthquake injuries.
- Send text messages rather than making calls. Voice networks saturate immediately; text usually gets through.
- If you are near the coast and the shaking was strong or lasted more than about 20 seconds, move inland or uphill without waiting for a warning.
Should you stand in a doorway during an earthquake?
- No. That advice dates from unreinforced adobe construction where door frames sometimes survived. In a modern building the doorway is no stronger than the surrounding wall, offers no protection from falling objects, and swinging doors can injure you. Drop, cover and hold on instead.
How long do earthquakes last?
- Strong shaking usually lasts seconds rather than minutes. Moderate earthquakes shake for 10 to 30 seconds; the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan produced roughly six minutes of shaking, which is exceptional. Duration tends to increase with magnitude because a larger rupture takes longer to unzip.
What should be in an earthquake kit?
- Water at one gallon per person per day for at least three days, non-perishable food, a torch, a battery or crank radio, a first aid kit, medications, a whistle, sturdy shoes and work gloves, copies of important documents and some cash. Keep a pair of shoes and a torch beside the bed, because a night-time earthquake leaves you crossing a dark floor covered in glass.