Heroes Insider Weekly

Extreme Weather Survival - Earthquakes

MNdreamerAKA Storm

 Writing Survival for Extreme Weather

 Earthquake Survival

          *DISCLAIMER - This article is strictly for literary entertainment purposes and should NOT under any circumstances be used as an actual survival guide for a real earthquake in real life.

         For this week’s lesson in extreme weather survival, Ms. Hulk and I traveled to the vast state of California.  To tackle the topic of preparing everyone on how to write about surviving an earthquake, what better location to visit than somewhere that experiences them frequently, Los Angeles.  Ms. Hulk decided to do a little sightseeing in Hollywood.  Who could resist the stars of the Boulevard, the flashy cars, the bright lights?  Sadly she left her compass behind, lost with no sense of direction in a foreign city, and has yet to return.  I searched and searched for her for days.  This is what caused the delay in me bringing this next lesson to you all.  I tried everything I could think of to locate her but nothing worked, she is lost somewhere in this giant city.  And that is the sad fact, this is a large city and it is difficult to find anything.  I am hoping she finds her sense soon and sees the path home.  Who knows, maybe I will see her face in the next big Blockbuster, but until then, on to business.

         Earthquakes can happen almost anywhere in the world.  They happen from highly populated areas to sparse areas, warm climates to cold climates, mountains to plains; it really doesn’t matter.  People used to believe they only happened near mountains until they discovered the New Madrid fault line which runs straight down the center of the United States of America—surprise, surprise, no mountains. This fault has caused devastated damage in the past.  In the 1800’s cities were leveled from activity on this fault and it has decent potential still.  So yes, earthquakes can happen anywhere.  Keep this in mind when writing your story.  With a little research thrown into the plot, you can easily make an earthquake prone area from what people may not normally consider one to be.  A barren, desert can become a shaking, sand-trap in no time at all.

         With that noted, what should your character do when they experience one?

       Well first you must decide if this will be their first earthquake or not.  As someone that lived in southern California and experienced several earthquakes, I can tell you that it does matter.  The first quake experience is very different from any other one.  So that decision is very important.

        If this is the first earthquake for your character, unless they are an adrenaline junkie, they are probably going to freak out a little.  The room is going to move and they are going to quickly not know what to do since they will have never gone through this before.  Eyes grow wide, hands shake, and panic fills the chest.  Soon the knowledge they’ve learned from television or from friends’ kicks in, but it takes a minute to get over the shock of what is happening.

         For someone who has never experience a quake they will most likely, no matter the size of the earthquake, take action during it.  They are not going to realize that a small quake isn’t going to shake the building to pieces.  So do you run frantically outside and stand in the street?  Nope, that is a great way to get them killed.  I have heard people mention this; a survival method for earthquakes and it is very, very dangerous.

         Leaving the structure takes time for one.  Secondly you risk having multiple structures falling on you, or your character, while they are trying to get to the street.  There are a lot of videos of earthquakes from Japan with people in the streets.  Most of these people were walking outside when the quake happened.  In this instance it would be best to move as quickly away from the buildings as possible and not try to get inside.  These people were mostlikely not inside.  So have your character stay inside.  This will increase their survival chance.

         What they should do is drop to the ground and find a sturdy piece of furniture nearby to hide underneath.  Keeping the body low to the ground helps the body maintain balance during the swaying.  Being under the furniture will prevent walls and the ceiling from falling on your character if you choose to have a big enough quake for the building to have major damage.  If the building doesn’t have major structural damage it will also protect them from anything falling off shelves or walls.

          Honestly it really is that simple.

        There are a few other scenarios such as if they are in a car.  Well, stop the car and use best judgment.  Are they on a busy freeway?  If so they probably shouldn’t get out, especially if it’s an elevated overpass like Los Angeles has.  If it collapses they have a better chance of survival in the vehicle.  If they are in the middle of nowhere they can exit the vehicle and lay on the ground somewhere.

         So that’s it, short and sweet right?

         As far as during the quake yes.  Drop, stay low, and get under cover.  But what happens after?  Injuries come first.  It is common that cell service and even land lines won’t work so your character will have to find different ways to seek out help.  Cell phones are often clogged from so many people calling out to check on loved ones or call for help.

         Once injuries are taken care of you can move onto a small checklist:

-Sniff for gasses.

-Asses damage of surroundings.

-If the current location is stable and safe stay there.

-If the location is heavily damaged or gas is present, safely get out.

         The location of your story is a huge factor in determining how well this survival technique is going to work as well as where the character is from.  If they are from the United States or from a well-developed area with advanced structures that are designed to handle earthquakes, this method will serve them well.  But if they are in or are from an area with buildings not designed around strict standards another method that is heavily scrutinized should be considered.  It is called the triangle of life.  In the United States this is not an approved method because buildings do not typically collapse from earthquakes like in countries such as Haiti.

         If your character is in a country with a weak infrastructure and the ground starts to shake they should do something different because a collapse is a very real possibility and if they are under a piece of furniture, they could get crushed, or pancaked as they call it.  The triangle of life suggests the character find a wall or door and sit on the floor up against it with their leg stretched out.  This creates the triangle shape.  The idea is that if the building collapses, a gap will be left around the wall in the shape of a triangle leaving an open space where your character is so they can survive.  But again, do not do this in a modernized area.  Falling objects are more likely to injure them.

      So then what if you’re character isn’t human you say?  What if they have some type of superpower like say, the Wattpad Avengers?  This will come in handy.  If you’re main character has super speed like my buddy The Flash, well then start running at the first sign of shaking my friend!  Are you able to move things with your mind?  Great!  If things get out of hand, clean them up.  Use that ability to lift the heavy walls and debris that has landed everywhere around you to make a safe exit.  Your character will also become quite popular now as they are going to be needed to help clean up the rest of the city.  Super strength would be handy for cleaning up to.  Remember, if your character has some sort of special ability; find a way to use it to your advantage.

         If you’d like to see how I utilize these techniques in my writing check out my works where I write about different locations.  I have a complete rated R romance titled The Company Ink and recently started a sequel titled The Crimson Ink.  I also have PG-13 romance/non-teen fiction titled Lily’s War.