Earthquakes Are Happening More Frequently - Safety Advice - The Triangle Of Life
By ellie333
@ellie333 (21016)
July 2, 2008 6:05am CST
I received this email about the Triangle of life and thought I would share with you all so you would know what to do if this event was to happen near you as they do seem to be becoming more frequent. It is quite disturbing in some of the extracts but does give good solid advice. Discussion questions after will be does anyone have any extra saftey precautions or advice to share and do you think this has helped you be aware in the event of what to do if disaster does strike? God willing it won't.
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 the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries.
I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying 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 time
know that the children were told to hide under something.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space 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 the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you
see 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 during
an 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. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much 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 out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the door jamb falls forward or
backward 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 of
frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake , they may collapse later when
overloaded 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 than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and 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 is
experiencing 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 be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of
Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific
test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins did 'duck and cover, ' and ten mannequins I used in my
'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under
directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed
there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions
of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen
in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.
Ellie :D
4 people like this
15 responses
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
2 Jul 08
Here I am thinking that the worst that could befall me in Exmouth was a dodgily battered bit of fish and you introduce earthquake survival techniques! So when the quake comes, I should park under a table, get outside of my car, preferably find something paper to hide in and survive in all the voids created. I seem to remember at school being taught something similar about aerial bomb attacks. The teacher, poor woman was only 20 years late. I did get a gold star though, for getting under my desk! Now, do I have time to get back to Dart's Farm for a half a lamb (at £55, which I thought not bad) before the earth shakes. More importantly, will I get to the bottle bank and back? Another set of worries.
2 people like this
@ellie333 (21016)
•
2 Jul 08
Oh Sorry P1kef1sh, I don't mean to add any worry but even my mother experiences earthquakes quite frequently where she lives in Spain but they are not on the news as fairly school and usually miniminal damage and I received this email and thought that most peoples reaction is to hide under rather than next too an object so thought I would share so people were aware. You have plenty of time to enjoy a half a lamn from Darts farm. Ellie :D
1 person likes this
@myliezl0903 (2726)
• Philippines
3 Jul 08
hey., yeah we all know that we can't really prevent this kind of disaster and i would say that it would be better to be prepared and know the safety rules while we are experiencing that situation.,you have listed all the precautions and that is really a good help for us to be inform on how and what to do with that matter.,thanks for that though.,it such a great help! have a nice day ahead!
2 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
2 Jul 08
i received this information in my email from my friends quite a while ago... and i start to forget some of them... so i am really thankful to you to remind me again on the tips of how to survive from an earthquake... i hope i never have to experience it throughout my whole life... but if i have to, at least i can remember these tips and know how to survive... thanks again for the great tips... take care and have a nice day...
2 people like this
@ellie333 (21016)
•
2 Jul 08
Hi Lingli, We all hope that we never have to but at least we now have the information in our subconciouness if the worse did ever happen with an excellent chance for survival eh! I just wanted to make people aware. Glad that you have been reminded of these again and appreciated me sharing. Ellie :D
1 person likes this
@marketing07 (6266)
• South Korea
2 Jul 08
hi ellie..it was a good information you shared to us, it was great thanks..have a nice day
@littleowl (7157)
•
2 Jul 08
Wow at least I know now what to do in an earthquake and can tell my children incase it happens here in the UK-as there have been a couple thanks for the info' Ellie-but don't have any other ideas for surviving an earthquake-huggles and blessings littleowl x
2 people like this
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
2 Jul 08
Very interesting article. Common sense seems to have been toss out the window here. I think most of the ideas, unfortunately, had to be tested to be proved. Its our natural instinct to hide under something, it doesn't make it safer, it just our first reaction. I'll keep these things in mind if I ever have to use them. Thank you.
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
9 Jul 08
Wow, thanks for this very informative article ellie..We have a lot of rehearsals before in our School when it is earthquake time...Duck and Cover and a lot of some tips given were corrected now after reading this...I know it will be different when it is actual really but having with information like this, I know it is very helpful to note!
1 person likes this
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
10 Jul 08
Hi ellie, thanks! This is my okra in my garden!Glad to hear you back and I will be looking forward for a post soon.LOL! Cheers!
1 person likes this
@ellie333 (21016)
•
9 Jul 08
Hi you have changed your avatar! What a beautiful flower the small pic doesn't do it justice really. I posted this discussion to help inform people rather than scare and hopefully we wil never have to live it for real but it is always good to be aware. Pleased you found it useful. Huggles Ellie:D
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
2 Jul 08
Thankyou for posting that article Ellie, it's really helpful. It's one of those things that I've never really thought about, but is perfectly logical when I do! Fingers crossed I never have to think about it for real.
Last year there were a couple of earthquakes here. They were only mild, though one of them woke me up and I lay there wondering why the world was shaking!
1 person likes this
@ellie333 (21016)
•
2 Jul 08
Hi GreenMoo, No it is not something we do want to think about but being aware of getting next to rather than under could save many lives if they are ware so this is what I was doing by posting this, making people aware. My mum experiences the ones you have in Portugal in Spain too but they never get reported in the news. Ellie :D
@cbreeze (1205)
• United States
2 Jul 08
Ellie,
Thank you so much for this post. I live in St. Louis MO which sits on a major fault. My children and I were just discussing this and I didn't have much information on what the correct response is. This helps greatly. I can't wait to share it.
@sweety_81 (2124)
• India
23 Jul 08
Hi ,
This is quite a useful information .It would help a lot of people .
1 person likes this
@avidwhit (1492)
• Mexico
2 Jul 08
Hola Ellie,
This is the longest post I have ever saw here I my lot, congrads I give give you the longest post award in my lot history.LOL Lots of earthquakes this is stated in the book of revalations as something that will be more appearant in the endtimes, for what ever reason. Lots of earthquakes donsnt suprise me, regardless we have to keep on living and loves and do our best to be happy. Sounds like a hard hat is a good investment nowdays.LOL take care. david :)
1 person likes this
@avidwhit (1492)
• Mexico
2 Jul 08
When you say serious you dont mess around! LOL Seriously though, this is good information and who knows how many will read and to what extent this information may have helped, you may have imparted info that helps save a life or more. Lets hope it isnt ever needed by any of us, but its good to have. adios david :)
1 person likes this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
2 Jul 08
Hello ellie,
Its so harrowing to see all those picture on television of the earthquake disasters I for one would like to see that Triangle of life, but i haven't seen it. For waht I was here its a good advice for those who live in these countries where those things hapens. Thank you for the extracts.
Best regards,
Tamarafireheart.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
9 Jul 08
this is a great discussion for people who are in the need, I am fortunate that I do not live in a zone for that kind of natural calamity.
1 person likes this