We live in the desert and every so often the Desert Sun newspaper reminds us that we live near the San Andreas Fault and we are in an earthquake zone.  I wonder if the New York Times reminds Manhattan dwellers that they also live in an earthquake zone. You can check out earthquakes by States!  Click here http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/.  

Earthquakes are a fact of life and whether we experience a major one in our lifetime or not, it is best to be prepared.  This article is not about what we should have to sustain ourselves after the earthquake, but rather what to do if we are experiencing one.  Remember our teachers telling us to "duck and cover" or stand in a doorway during an earthquake?  I actually recall my teachers telling us to "duck and cover" under our wooden desks in case of a Russian nuclear attack... tells you how old I am.  The article below is a different take on what to do and how to survive.  It is controversial and many experts have challenged the author's recommendations.  Below is an extract from David Copp's Article on the "Triangle of Life" email that has been circulating the web and that I recently received.

"My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries. 

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and
I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time
know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'.
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you
see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see,
in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" when buildings collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.  You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.  If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.  Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.


8) Try to get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible. It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Although the "Triangle of Life" is an actual theory, experts believe it is based on experiences outside of the United States and does not consider building codes and construction engineering used in this country for most of the last century. Earthquake survival experts believe that structural collapses do not occur as frequently in the United States as they do in other countries; making falling objects the biggest concern,

To many experts the "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is still the recommended survival technique to do when you are caught in an earthquake in this country. The "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" method amounts to dropping under a sturdy desk or table, holding on, and protecting your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If there is no table or desk nearby, sit on the floor against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you. Your greatest danger is not from a building collapse, it is from falling items, debris, and broken glass.

I am still contemplating the two methods and personally consider there is validity in both methods.  If you are interested in learning more, please visit the preparedness information which can be found at: www.redcross.org, www.ready.gov or www.fema.gov.

We live in the desert and it is a GREAT way of life!  Let's remember that we don't have annual hurricanes, devastating tornadoes, or freezing winters.  As I once told my brother, who lives in Pennsylvania... "I would rather shake and bake than sneeze and freeze"!