[jawsscripts] Re: earthquake what to do
- From: Chris Smart <chris_s@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:13:22 -0400
and you sent this to a Jaws scripting list why???
At 08:02 PM 3/25/2010, you wrote:
>Protect Yourself During an Earthquake...
>Drop, Cover, and Hold On!
>
>OFFICIAL RESCUE TEAMS from the U.S. and other countries who have
>searched for trapped people in collapsed structures around the
>world, as well as emergency managers, researchers, and school
>safety advocates, all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is the
>appropriate action to reduce injury and death during earthquakes.
>Methods like standing in a doorway, running outside, and "triangle
>of life" method are considered dangerous and are not recommended
>(see below).
>Topics addressed below include:
>. What to do wherever you are when shaking begins
>. How people with a mobility limitation or a disability can
>protect themselves
>. Why experts recommend Drop, Cover, and Hold On
>. What experts do not recommend you do during an earthquake
>
>WHAT TO DO IMMEDIATELY WHEN SHAKING BEGINS
>www.dropcoverholdon.org
>www.dropcoverholdon.org
>Your past experience in earthquakes may give you a false sense of
>safety; you didn't do anything, or you ran outside, yet you
>survived with no injuries. Or perhaps you got under your desk and
>others thought you overreacted. However, you likely have never
>experienced the kind of strong earthquake shaking that is possible
>in much large earthquakes: sudden and intense back and forth
>motions of several feet per second will cause the floor or the
>ground to jerk sideways out from under you, and every unsecured
>object around you could topple, fall, or become airborne,
>potentially causing serious injury. This is why you must learn to
>immediately protect yourself after the first jolt... don't wait to
>see if the earthquake shaking will be strong!
>In MOST situations, you will reduce your chance of injury if you:
>. DROP down onto your hands and knees (before the earthquakes
>knocks you down). This position protects you from falling but
>allows you to still move if necessary.
>. COVER your head and neck (and your entire body if possible)
>under a sturdy table or desk. If there is no shelter nearby, only
>then should you get down near an interior wall (or next to
>low-lying furniture that won't fall on you), and cover your head
>and neck with your arms and hands.
>. HOLD ON to your shelter (or to your head and neck) until the
>shaking stops. Be prepared to move with your shelter if the
>shaking shifts it around.
>Wherever you are, protect yourself! You may be in situation where
>you cannot find shelter beneath furniture (or low against a wall,
>with your arms covering your head and neck). It is important to
>think about what you will do to protect yourself wherever you are.
>What if you are driving, in a theater, in bed, at the beach, etc.?
>Step 5 of the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety describes what to
>do in various situations, no matter where you are when you feel
>earthquake shaking.
>
>HOW PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES
>For those who cannot "drop" due to mobility limitations, or for
>those who have other special situations, Advice for people with
>disabilities or access and functional needs (432 KB PDF), a
>document from CalEMA, explains what to do when you physically
>cannot "Drop, Cover, and Hold On."
>
>WHY RESCUERS AND EXPERTS RECOMMEND DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON
>Trying to moving during shaking puts you at risk: Earthquakes
>occur without any warning and may be so violent that you cannot
>run or crawl; you therefore will most likely be knocked to the
>ground where you happen to be. So it is best to drop before the
>earthquake drops you, and find nearby shelter or use your arms and
>hands to protect your head and neck. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On"
>gives you the best overall chance of quickly protecting yourself
>during an earthquake... even during quakes that cause furniture to
>move about rooms, and even in buildings that might ultimately collapse.
>The greatest danger is from falling and flying objects: Studies of
>injuries and deaths caused by earthquakes over the last several
>decades show that you are much more likely to be injured by
>falling or flying objects (TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases, etc.)
>than to die in a collapsed building. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On"
>(as described above) will protect you from most of these injuries.
>If there is no furniture nearby, you can still reduce the chance
>of injury from falling objects by getting down next to an interior
>wall and covering your head and neck with your arms (exterior
>walls are more likely to collapse and have windows that may
>break). If you are in bed, the best thing to do is to stay there
>and cover your head with a pillow. Studies of injuries in
>earthquakes show that people who moved from their beds would not
>have been injured if they had remained in bed.
>You can also reduce your change of injury or damage to your
>belongings by securing them in the first place. Secure top heavy
>furniture to walls with flexible straps. Use earthquake putty or
>velcro fasteners for objects on tables, shelves, or other
>furniture. Install safety latches on cabinets to keep them closed.
>Instructions for how to "secure your space" are at
>www.daretoprepare.org.
>Building collapse is less of a danger: While images of collapsed
>structures in earthquakes around the world are frightening and get
>the most attention from the media, most buildings do not collapse
>at all, and few completely collapse. In earthquake prone areas of
>the U.S. and in many other countries, strict building codes have
>worked to greatly reduce the potential of structure collapse.
>However, there is the possibility of structural failure in certain
>building types, especially unreinforced masonry (brick buildings),
>and in certain structures constructed before the latest building
>codes. Rescue professionals are trained to understand how these
>structures collapse in order to identify potential locations of
>survivors within "survivable void spaces."
>The main goal of "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is to protect you from
>falling and flying debris and other nonstructural hazards, and to
>increase the chance of your ending up in a Survivable Void Space
>if the building actually collapses. The space under a sturdy table
>or desk is likely to remain even if the building collapses-
>pictures from around the world show tables and desks standing with
>rubble all around them, and even holding up floors that have
>collapsed. Experienced rescuers agree that successfully predicting
>other safe locations in advance is nearly impossible, as where
>these voids will be depends on the direction of the shaking and
>many other factors. (See "triangle of life" below.)
>The ONLY exception to the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" rule is if you
>are in a country with unengineered construction, and if you are on
>the ground floor of an unreinforced mud-brick (adobe) building,
>with a heavy ceiling. In that case, you should try to move quickly
>outside to an open space. This cannot be recommended as a
>substitute for building earthquake-resistant structures in the
>first place!
>
>WHAT RESCUERS AND EXPERTS *DO NOT* RECOMMEND YOU DO DURING AN
>EARTHQUAKE
>Based on years of research about how people are injured or killed
>during earthquakes, and the experiences of U.S. and international
>search and rescue teams, these three actions are not recommended
>to protect yourself during earthquakes:
>DO NOT run outside or to other rooms during shaking: The area near
>the exterior walls of a building is the most dangerous place to
>be. Windows, facades and architectural details are often the first
>parts of the building to collapse. To stay away from this danger
>zone, stay inside if you are inside and outside if you are
>outside. Also, shaking can be so strong that you will not be able
>to move far without falling down, and objects may fall or be
>thrown at you that you do not expect. Injuries can be avoided if
>you drop to the ground before the earthquake drops you.
>DO NOT stand in a doorway: An enduring earthquake image of
>California is a collapsed adobe home with the door frame as the
>only standing part. From this came our belief that a doorway is
>the safest place to be during an earthquake. True- if you live in
>an old, unreinforced adobe house or some older woodframe houses.
>In modern houses, doorways are no stronger than any other part of
>the house, and the doorway does not protect you from the most
>likely source of injury- falling or flying objects. You also may
>not be able to brace yourself in the door during strong shaking.
>You are safer under a table.
>Please help! If you have received an email about the "triangle of
>life" please respond to its sender by directing them to this page:
>
>www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/
>
>Ask them to send this link to everyone they sent the "triangle"
>email, and to the person who sent it to them. Thank you!
>DO NOT get in the "triangle of life": In recent years, an e-mail
>has been circulating which describes an alternative to the
>long-established "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" advice. The so-called
>"triangle of life" and some of the other actions recommended in
>the e-mail are potentially life threatening, and the credibility
>of the source of these recommendations has been broadly questioned
>(see links at left).
>The "triangle of life" advice (always get next to a table rather
>than underneath it) is based on several wrong assumptions:
>. buildings always collapse in earthquakes (wrong- especially in
>developed nations, and flat "pancake" collapse is rare anywhere);
>. when buildings collapse they always crush all furniture inside
>(wrong- people DO survive under furniture or other shelters);
>. people can always anticipate how their building might collapse
>and anticipate the location of survivable void spaces (wrong- the
>direction of shaking and unique structural aspects of the building
>make this nearly impossible) ; and
>. during strong shaking people can move to a desired location
>(wrong- strong shaking can make moving very difficult and dangerous).
>Some other recommendations in the "triangle of life" e-mail are
>also based on wrong assumptions and very hazardous. For example,
>the recommendation to get out of your car during an earthquake and
>lay down next to it assumes that there is always an elevated
>freeway above you that will fall and crush your car. Of course
>there are very few elevated freeways, and laying next to your car
>is very dangerous because the car can move and crush you, and
>other drivers may not see you on the ground! A compilation of
>rebuttals from many organizations to these alternative
>recommendations, as well as news articles about the controversy,
>is listed at left.
>
>PRACTICE THE RIGHT THING TO DO. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
>You will be more likely to react quickly when shaking begins if
>you have actually practiced how to protect yourself on a regular
>basis. A great time to practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On is by
>participating in the Great California ShakeOut this October (and
>soon in other areas).
>More information about what to do during an earthquake can be
>found at www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/step5.html.
>
>Created in the SCEC system
>Last modified: March 08 2010 18:39
>© 2010 www.scec.org Southern California Earthquake Center @
>www.usc.edu
>
>
>
>e-mail addresses:
>johnvij@xxxxxxxxx
>johnvi.javier@xxxxxxxxx
>skype ID johnvi2
>yahoo messenger johnvij
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