Avoid objects that could topple. Move out of traffic. Head toward a large open space.
National guidance for earthquake safety may seem largely irrelevant for New Yorkers, given how rare major quakes are in the region. And considering how frequent they are in California, it’s unsurprising some of the advice has a West Coast bent.
But experts interviewed after Friday’s series of shocks said the underlying themes of how to stay safe apply broadly, and the conventional wisdom could help save lives if a big one ever happens.
“The issues associated with the high population and traffic in the NYC area are challenging, which perhaps makes the guidance provided by experts seem impractical,” said Susan Bilek, professor of geophysics at New Mexico Tech. “But it is still very relevant in cases of large earthquakes to try to reduce the numbers of injuries.”
Guidelines from the U.S. Geological Survey give different advice depending on whether someone is indoors or outdoors during an earthquake. If you’re inside, according to the guidance, stay there and get under a desk or table, or move into a hallway; and keep away from windows, heavy furniture, and appliances, including in kitchens. If you’re outdoors, move away from buildings, power lines, chimneys and other objects that could fall on you.
“It’s all about what usually happens in earthquakes, how to avoid being injured, and those factors are true universally,” said Mark Benthien, outreach director at the Southern California Earthquake Center, headquartered at the University of Southern California.
Benthien said it’s more common to be injured by falling objects than falling buildings during an earthquake, though he cautioned that every built environment is different.
“You can imagine there could be tailored guidance for almost every building, because some buildings are going to have glass, some buildings are going to have brick,” he said.
For New Yorkers caught on the sidewalk during an earthquake, he said…
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