Just a reminder due to recent events...
F.Y.I. Where to be During an Earthquake Remember that stuff about hiding under a tabel or standing in a doorway?? Well, this guy has a completely reverse opinion. This is very interesting, different from what we were all taught.
Boy! Is this ever an eye opener. Directly opposite of what we've been taught over the years! I can remember in school being told to, "duck and cover" or stand in a doorway during an earthquake. This guy's findings is absolutely amazing. I hope we all remember his survival method if we are ever in an earthquake!!!
Please read this and pass the info along to your family members; it could save their lives someday!
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"
My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of theAmerican Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experiencedrescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teamsfrom 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am amember of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. Ihave worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except forsimultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico Cityduring the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every childwas crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived bylying 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 timeknow that the children were told to hide under something.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilingsfalling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving aspace 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 theobject compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability thatthe person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The nexttime you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" yousee 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 duringan 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. Brickbuildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries butless squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simplyroll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve amuch 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 outthe door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next toa sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse iskilled. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward orbackward 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 offrequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into eachother until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who geton stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horriblymutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from thestairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if thestairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later whenoverloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) 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 thanthe interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of thebuilding the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above fallsin an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happenedwith the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims ofthe San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They wereall killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting orlying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they hadbeen able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All thecrushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that hadcolumns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper officesand other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world isexperiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
"We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to becorrect. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University ofIstanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientifictest.
We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Tenmannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my"triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse wecrawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document theresults. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques underdirectly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duckand cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people usingmy method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millionsof viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seenin the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV
