Earthquakes at night are okay. I live on the second floor of a house and sleep in a bed towered over by three ceiling-high bookcases. If the world was to fall apart around me, there's really not a lot I could do to save myself. So I roll over and go back to bed without much thought. I usually don't even remember there was an earthquake unless someone reminds me the next day.
The other night, two shock waves from an earthquake rolled past my house. After being woken up by the first wave and turning over to go back to sleep, I was shaken more violently awake on the second round only to wonder briefly if the ground was shaking enough to make the towering bookcases in my room fall on top of me. Then I rolled over and went back to sleep.
A few mornings later, I was reading a book in a chair with my coffee all snuggled in my bathrobe when another shock wave hit the house. I heard my mother get out of bed upstairs when it passed. Now, when it's the middle of the night and I'm half awake and can just let the shaking lull me back to sleep, that is one thing, but when I'm up and conscious, well that's just rude. If I can visualize my parent's four-post bed with my mother still lying in it crashing down and crushing me in my bathrobe, coffee mug in one hand, book in the other, I categorize that as not cool.
Other places I'd categorize as "definitely not cool" to be when an earthquake hits:
train
apartment building
cable car (did that)
motorcycle or scooter or bicycle
scuba diving
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Knowing What To Do Can Save Your Life When an EARTHQUAKE occurs...
1. Immediately turn off the gas in your house of apartment, including stoves and heating devices. If a small fire breaks out, stay calm and extinguish it.
2. Door frames can jam during an earthquake and trap you inside. Open a door to the outside as an emergency exit.
3. If you are indoors, stay there. Seek shelter under a door frame, table or desk to protect yourself from falling objects.
4. Going outside increases your chance of injury. If you are already outdoors, proceed cautiously to an open area.
5. Keep away from narrow alleys, concrete block walls, unstable structures and steep embankments.
6. If you are evacuating a crowded area like a stadium, department store or theater, remain calm and listen carefully for instructions.
7. Driving? Immediately stop your car on the side of the street and turn the engine off. Listen to the radio for further instructions.
8. Earthquakes can generate large ocean waves called "tsunami." People in coastal areas should move inland to high ground.
9. Don't listen to rumors. Tune in to radio or television, or ask emergency officials for information and instructions.
(Courtesy of USArmy MWR)
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