If you do encounter an earthquake, the best thing to do is to stay calm. If you are indoors in a tall building, resist the urge to run outdoors. Two places to avoid in buildings are stairways and elevators. During an earthquake, a stairway will have a different frequency of motion than the rest of the building due to its construction and will therefore react differently. In a vibration collapse it is the most likely part of the building to fall first especially if it is carrying the extra weight of people trying to escape (Wisconsin Search and Rescue).

The most common advice given on how to react when an earthquake is felt is to duck and cover. This method, which many of us have been taught in school drills, claims that the safest place to be in such an event is under a heavy object such as a desk, table or under a doorway which would supposedly save you from the falling debris. However, according to the Wisconsin Search and Rescue (WISAR), data collected from numerous catastrophic situations by the American Rescue Team International (ARTI) and the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) has shown that the duck and cover method is not the right way to avoid getting crushed and might even increase your chances of getting crushed!

According to the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the best way to avoid getting squashed is to curl up in areas most likely to become voids in case of the building collapsing. Voids are spaces created around large objects such as a desk, bed, couch, filing cabinet etc., and if a person is in a void when the building collapses, he will most likely survive.

The ARTI and the University of Istanbul in Turkey experimented (using test dummies) on what happens inside collapsing buildings. The dummies were all placed in the duck and cover position and were videotaped as the buildings were intentionally collapsed. They were all crushed or chopped into pieces as the objects they were taking cover under collapsed under the weight of the falling debris.

It took the collaboration of scientists, engineers and rescue workers to finally come to the discovery of the triangle-of-life. According to WISAR, there are four basic patterns of collapse: Lean-To, V, Pancake, and Cantilever.

In a Lean-To collapse, one wall gives way while the opposite wall stays standing in place. The ceiling will therefore fall on one side but stay held up on the other side by the remaining wall. A triangle is formed by the floor, sidewall, and the ceiling that makes an angle with the floor. A void will therefore be found under the ceiling next to the standing wall.

In a V collapse, both sidewalls remain standing while the ceiling collapses to the inside of the building. This gives an ‘M’ shape from the outside or a ‘V’ shape on the inside caused by the collapsed ceiling. Voids will be found here along the outer walls under the collapsed ceiling.

A Pancake collapse occurs when both walls and the ceiling fall and become stacked on top of each other and the floor. This is the most dangerous type of collapse and causes the most deaths. Duck and cover in this case is deadly as objects are squashed under the weight of the building. Voids in such a collapse are most likely to be found next to and not under large objects.

In a Cantilever collapse, part of the building collapses while the remainder of it remains intact, as if the building was cut in half from top to bottom. Survival in the collapsed portion will be haphazard.

In reasonably tall buildings (5 to 10 stories high) it is generally safer to be situated on the upper floors in cases of earthquakes since the lower floors become more completely crushed under the weight of the upper floors, however you can not depend on a void upholding itself during a multiple level collapse (WISAR).

In short, although you can not predict how a building will fall in case of an earthquake, generally, the safest place to be is next to a large, sturdy object such as a desk or even in front of a couch or the side of a bed with your head lower than the upper surface of that object. Curl up into the foetus position so as to minimize injury to body parts by falling debris and put your hands behind you head for protection.

Surviving the collapse of a building may not be the only thing to worry about in case of an earthquake. Even when a person survives the collapse, extreme care must be taken during removal of such individuals from under the rubble.

In cases where a large bulk of muscle has been crushed under the rubble or under a heavy object during the quake, a condition known as ‘crush syndrome’ may develop. When such a body part is extracted from under the compressing object, the damaged muscle releases muscle pigment, potassium, creatinine, lactic acid, and other substances into the circulation. Renal failure may result from shock and also from the accumulation of muscle pigment (myoglobin) in the kidney tubules. Excess potassium may cause the heart to stop pumping leading to sudden cardiac arrest and death.

If not treated properly, this syndrome may lead to the death of the injured person. The first rule in avoiding crush syndrome is to NEVER suddenly lift a heavy object that has fallen onto someone unless it is pressing on his chest, abdomen or head. Intravenous fluids should be administered immediately after or even while the person is still trapped. The earlier this is initiated the better the chances are of preventing kidney failure.

Antibiotics are also recommended for these individuals to prevent infections that could contribute to kidney failure. In conclusion, it’s of utmost importance that all earthquake survivors be properly assessed by a medical team before being moved and to be taken to the nearest medical facility available.