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Saturday, September 18, 2004

Good Earthquake Tips 

My sister just sent this to me over email. It was the first email that I've recevied in a very long time that I actually thought was important enough to pass along.


EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"

Edited by Larry Linn for MAA Safety Committee brief on 4/13/04.

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 (UNX051 -UNIENET)
for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since
1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

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'.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their 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. They are everywhere.

I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000) in how to
survive, take care of their families, and to rescue others in
earthquakes. The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department is a
professor at Trujillo University. He accompanied me everywhere. He gave
personal testimony: "My name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue in
Trujillo. When I was 11 years old, I was trapped inside of a collapsed
building. My entrapment occurred during the earthquake of 1972 that
killed 70,000 people. I survived in the "triangle of life" that existed
next to my brother's motorcycle. My friends who got under the bed and
under desks were crushed to death [he gives more details, names,
addresses, etc.]...I am the living example of the "triangle of life". My
dead friends are the example of "duck and cover".

TIPS DOUG COPP PROVIDES:
1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE is
crushed to death -- Every time, without exception. People who get under
objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies all naturally often 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. The reason is simple: the 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 while you are watching television 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) Everybody 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. They are 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 screaming,
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, says the
author. 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.

Comments:
Sent from
Rocky Lopes, PhD
Manager, Community Disaster Education
American Red Cross National Headquarters

Recently it has been brought to my attention that an email from Doug Copp, titled "Triangle of Life," is making its rounds again on the Internet. "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is CORRECT, accurate, and APPROPRIATE for use in the United States for Earthquake safety. Mr. Copp's assertions in his message that everyone is always crushed if they get under something is incorrect.

Recently, the American Red Cross became aware of a challenge to the earthquake safety advice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On." This is according to information from Mr. Doug Copp, the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of American Rescue Team International (a private company not affiliated with the U.S. Government or other agency.) He says that going underneath objects during an earthquake [as in children being told to get under their desks at school] is very dangerous, and fatal should the building collapse in a strong earthquake. He also states that "everyone who gets under a doorway when a building collapses is killed." He further states that "if you are in bed when an earthquake happens, to roll out of bed next to it," and he also says that "If an earthquake happens while you are watching television 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." These recommendations are inaccurate for application in the United States and inconsistent with information developed through earthquake research. Mr. Copp based his statements on observations of damage to buildings after an earthquake in Turkey. It is like "apples and oranges" to compare building construction standards, techniques, engineering principles, and construction materials between Turkey and the United States.

We at the American Red Cross have studied the research on the topic of earthquake safety for many years. We have benefited from extensive research done by the California Office of Emergency Services, California Seismic Safety Commission, professional and academic research organizations, and emergency management agencies, who have also studied the recommendation to "drop, cover, and hold on!" during the shaking of an earthquake. Personally, I have also benefited from those who preceded me in doing earthquake education in California since the Field Act was passed in 1933.

What the claims made by Mr. Copp of ARTI, Inc., does not seem to distinguish is that the recommendation to "drop, cover, and hold on!" is a U.S.-based recommendation based on U.S. Building Codes and construction standards. Much research in the United States has confirmed that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" has saved lives in the United States. Engineering researchers have demonstrated that very few buildings collapse or "pancake" in the U.S. as they might do in other countries. Using a web site to show one picture of one U.S. building that had a partial collapse after a major quake in an area with thousands of buildings that did not collapse during the same quake is inappropriate and misleading.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which collects data on injuries and deaths from all reportable causes in the U.S., as well as data from three University-based studies performed after the Loma Prieta (September, 1989) and Northridge (January, 1994) earthquakes in California, the following data are indicated: Loma Prieta: 63 deaths, approximately 3,700 people were injured. Most injuries happened as a result of the collapse of the Cypress Street section of I-880 in Oakland. Northridge: 57 deaths, 1,500 serious injuries. Most injuries were from falls caused by people trying to get out of their homes, or serious cuts and broken bones when people ran, barefooted, over broken glass (the earthquake happened in the early morning on a federal holiday when many people were still in bed.) There were millions of people in each of these earthquake-affected areas, and of those millions, many of them reported to have "dropped, covered, and held on" during the shaking of the earthquake.

We contend that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" indeed SAVED lives, not killed people. Because the research continues to demonstrate that, in the U.S., "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" works, the American Red Cross remains behind that recommendation. It is the simplest, reliable, and easiest method to teach people, including children.

The American Red Cross has not recommended use of a doorway for earthquake protection for more than a decade. The problem is that many doorways are not built into the structural integrity of a building, and may not offer protection. Also, simply put, doorways are not suitable for more than one person at a time.

The Red Cross, remaining consistent with the information published in "Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages," (visit http://www.disastereducation.org/guide.html ) states that if you are in bed when an earthquake happens, remain there. Rolling out of bed may lead to being injured by debris on the floor next to the bed. If you have done a good job of earthquake mitigation (that is, removing pictures or mirrors that could fall on a bed; anchoring tall bedroom furniture to wall studs, and the like), then you are safer to stay in bed rather than roll out of it during the shaking of an earthquake.

Also, the Red Cross strongly advises not try to move (that is, escape) during the shaking of an earthquake. The more and the longer distance that someone tries to move, the more likely they are to become injured by falling or flying debris, or by tripping, falling, or getting cut by damaged floors, walls, and items in the path of escape. Identifying potential "void areas" and planning on using them for earthquake protection is more difficult to teach, and hard to remember for people who are not educated in earthquake engineering principles. The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate. What we are saying is that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On!" is NOT wrong -- in the United States. The American Red Cross, being a U.S.-based organization, does not extend its recommendations to apply in other countries. What works here may not work elsewhere, so there is no dispute that the "void identification method" or the "Triangle of Life" may indeed be the best thing to teach in other countries where the risk of building collapse, even in moderate earthquakes, is great
 
You might want to check out earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon... this details why Mr. Copp's advice really isn't very good (and also looks into his supposed status as an "expert").

Cheers,

John
 
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