洛县地震中心: 地震灾害发生时自我保护:蹲下,寻找掩护,抓牢!
美国和其他国家官方救援队在世界各地的倒塌建筑物搜索,营救被困人员,紧急事件的研究者和管理者,以及学校安全的倡导者,都同意,“蹲下,掩护,抓牢”是对应强震的适当的行动,以减少地震伤亡。他们不建议站在门口,跑出室和躲进“生命三角”区的方法,认为这些方法是是危险的,(见下文)。
下文讨论的主题包括:
链接:
地震开始时马上要做的事情(http://www.dropcoverholdon.org/)
过去你在地震的经验可以给你一个安全的错觉,或许你什么也没做,或者你跑到外面,但你没有受伤或者幸存。或许你躲在你的办公桌下别人还以为你反应过度。然而,你可能从来没有经历过那种有可能出现在许多大规模地震中的强烈震动:每秒来回几英尺的突然和剧烈震动将导致地面在你下面横向抖动,或从你下面滑出去,你周围的每一个无固定物体都可以翻倒,跌落,或飞起,可能造成严重伤害。这就是为什么你第一个震动开始时必须学会立即保护你自己,不要等待,或想看看地震晃动有多强!
在大多数情况下,你如果做到如下几点,你会减少你受伤的机会:
- 立即趴下,用手和膝盖支撑(在地震将你击倒前)。从这一姿势保护你不至于跌倒,但如果有必要时,你仍然可以移动。
- 把你的头和颈部(如果可能的话,以及你的整个身体,)遮挡在一个坚固的桌子或书桌下。如果附近没有遮挡物体,只有在此时,你才要靠近内墙趴下(或趴在压倒不到你身上的低稳家具旁边),并且,用双臂和手护着你的头和脖子。
- 抓紧遮护你的物体(或用双臂和手护着您的头部和颈部),直到震动停止。如果震动变化方向,你要准备与遮挡物同时移动。
学习有关“蹲下和寻找掩护”的内容:(我的LA安全网站)
无论您在哪里,要保护自己!你可能在某些情况下,你无法找到和躲在能庇护你的家具之下(或靠近低墙,用您的的手臂覆盖你的头和脖子)。重要的是无论身处何地要想想你将如何保护自己。如果你在开车,在床上,戏院中,在沙滩上,等等? "地震人身安全七步骤" 描述了无论您身在何处,当你感到地震的摇晃时您要做的各种情况。
残疾人士如何可以保护自己
对于那些不能“蹲下和寻找掩护”由于行动受限制的人,或一些其他特殊情况,你无法找到和躲在能庇护你的家具之下(或靠近低墙,用您的的手臂覆盖你的头和脖子)。下面链接文件为残疾或需要获取辅助功能人提供的建议(432KB PDF文件) ,具体解释了,当你的身体不能“蹲下,寻找掩护,和抓牢"时怎么办。(以上为杨鸣博士编译)
http://www.shakeout.org/downloads/DropCoverHoldOn_AFN_090615.pdf
WHY RESCUERS AND EXPERTS RECOMMEND DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON(为什么救援人员及专家建议你蹲下,寻找掩护,并抓紧保护物体)
Trying to move during shaking puts you at risk:Earthquakes occur without any warning and may be so violent that you cannot run or crawl; you therefore will most likely be knocked to the ground where you happen to be. So it is best to drop before the earthquake drops you, and find nearby shelter or use your arms and hands to protect your head and neck. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" gives you the best overall chance of quickly protecting yourself during an earthquake... even during quakes that cause furniture to move about rooms, and even in buildings that might ultimately collapse.
The greatest danger is from falling and flying objects:Studies of injuries and deaths caused by earthquakes over the last several decades show that you are much more likely to be injured by falling or flying objects(TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases, etc.)than to die in a collapsed building. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On"(as described above)will protect you from most of these injuries.
If there is no furniture nearby, you can still reduce the chance of injury from falling objects by getting down next to an interior wall and covering your head and neck with your arms(exterior walls are more likely to collapse and have windows that may break). If you are in bed, the best thing to do is to stay there and cover your head with a pillow. Studies of injuries in earthquakes show that people who moved from their beds would not have been injured if they had remained in bed.
You can also reduce your chance of injury or damage to your belongings by securing them in the first place. Secure top heavy furniture to walls with flexible straps. Use earthquake putty or velcro fasteners for objects on tables, shelves, or other furniture. Install safety latches on cabinets to keep them closed. Instructions for how to "secure your space" are at www.daretoprepare.org.
Building collapse is less of a danger:While images of collapsed structures in earthquakes around the world are frightening and get the most attention from the media, most buildings do not collapse at all, and few completely collapse. In earthquake prone areas of the U.S. and in many other countries, strict building codes have worked to greatly reduce the potential of structure collapse. However, there is the possibility of structural failure in certain building types, especially unreinforced masonry(brick buildings), and in certain structures constructed before the latest building codes. Rescue professionals are trained to understand how these structures collapse in order to identify potential locations of survivors within "survivable void spaces."
The main goal of "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is to protect you from falling and flying debris and other nonstructural hazards, and to increase the chance of your ending up in a Survivable Void Space if the building actually collapses. The space under a sturdy table or desk is likely to remain even if the building collapses- pictures from around the world show tables and desks standing with rubble all around them, and even holding up floors that have collapsed. Experienced rescuers agree that successfully predicting other safe locations in advance is nearly impossible, as where these voids will be depends on the direction of the shaking and many other factors.(See "triangle of life" below.)
The ONLY exception to the "Drop, Cover and Hold On" rule is if you are in a country with unengineered construction, and if you are on the ground floor of an unreinforced mud-brick(adobe)building, with a heavy ceiling. In that case, you should try to move quickly outside to an open space. This cannot be recommended as a substitute for building earthquake-resistant structures in the first place!
WHAT RESCUERS AND EXPERTS *DO NOT* RECOMMEND YOU DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE
Based on years of research about how people are injured or killed during earthquakes, and the experiences of U.S. and international search and rescue teams, these three actions are not recommended to protect yourself during earthquakes:
DO NOT run outside or to other rooms during shaking:The area near the exterior walls of a building is the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades and architectural details are often the first parts of the building to collapse. To stay away from this danger zone, stay inside if you are inside and outside if you are outside. Also, shaking can be so strong that you will not be able to move far without falling down, and objects may fall or be thrown at you that you do not expect. Injuries can be avoided if you drop to the ground before the earthquake drops you.
DO NOT stand in a doorway:An enduring earthquake image of California is a collapsed adobe home with the door frame as the only standing part. From this came our belief that a doorway is the safest place to be during an earthquake. True- if you live in an old, unreinforced adobe house or some older woodframe houses. In modern houses, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the house, and the doorway does not protect you from the most likely source of injury- falling or flying objects. You also may not be able to brace yourself in the door during strong shaking. You are safer under a table.
Please help! If you have received an email about the "triangle of life" please respond to its sender by directing them to this page:
www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/
Ask them to send this link to everyone they sent the "triangle" email, and to the person who sent it to them. Thank you!
DO NOT get in the "triangle of life":In recent years, an e-mail has been circulating which describes an alternative to the long-established "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" advice. The so-called "triangle of life" and some of the other actions recommended in the e-mail are potentially life threatening, and the credibility of the source of these recommendations has been broadly questioned(see links at left).
The "triangle of life" advice(always get next to a table rather than underneath it)is based on several wrong assumptions:
- buildings always collapse in earthquakes(wrong- especially in developed nations, and flat "pancake" collapse is rare anywhere);
- when buildings collapse they always crush all furniture inside(wrong- people DO survive under furniture or other shelters);
- people can always anticipate how their building might collapse and anticipate the location of survivable void spaces(wrong- the direction of shaking and unique structural aspects of the building make this nearly impossible); and
- during strong shaking people can move to a desired location(wrong- strong shaking can make moving very difficult and dangerous).
Some other recommendations in the "triangle of life" e-mail are also based on wrong assumptions and very hazardous. For example, the recommendation to get out of your car during an earthquake and lay down next to it assumes that there is always an elevated freeway above you that will fall and crush your car. Of course there are very few elevated freeways, and laying next to your car is very dangerous because the car can move and crush you, and other drivers may not see you on the ground! A compilation of rebuttals from many organizations to these alternative recommendations, as well as news articles about the controversy, is listed at left.
PRACTICE THE RIGHT THING TO DO… IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
You will be more likely to react quickly when shaking begins if you have actually practiced how to protect yourself on a regular basis. A great time to practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On is by participating in the Great California ShakeOut <http://www.shakeout.org/> this October(and soon in other areas).
More information about what to do during an earthquake can be found at www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/step5.html.