Knowing what to do after an earthquake is crucial as the weather after an earthquake is more dangerous. People should assess their surroundings for safety, evacuate if indoors, screen for injuries, report outages, avoid overpasses and bridges, establish emergency meeting points, and assemble an earthquake safety kit.
Many people who have not experienced an earthquake are under the impression that the dangerous part is the earthquake itself. In fact, the weather after an earthquake is much more dangerous, and knowing what to do after an earthquake is an important part of earthquake preparedness. Earthquakes can cause a wide variety of damage, and sometimes the damage is extremely dangerous but subtle, such as damaged electrical wires causing fires in the walls of a structure.
After an earthquake has passed, the first thing people should do is assess their surroundings for safety and check for people nearby. If people are indoors, it’s a good idea to evacuate, because earthquakes can cause structural instability, which will cause a building to collapse. If survivors smell gas or see spilled chemicals, they should leave the area immediately. Likewise if flames or electric sparks are detected.
Victims should be promptly screened for injuries, with particular attention to the ABCs: airways, breathing, and circulation. If someone has serious injuries or a suspected head or spinal injury, he or she should not be moved. It is also not advisable to attempt to remove wreckage from trapped victims unless they are in immediate danger of death, because unstable piles of wreckage can injure people even more when moved by people who are inexperienced. If people are left in a building due to injury or become trapped, the building must be clearly marked to indicate that there are people inside.
If you identify a suspicious outage to a utility such as a gas, electric, water, or sewer line, you should report it to the emergency services and utility. Emergency services are usually active after an earthquake and can also be called to emergency hotlines. Keeping a list of emergency numbers handy is a good idea to be prepared for situations like after an earthquake. Telephones should only be used for emergency use, to avoid jamming the telephone system, and survivors should listen to battery-operated radios for information.
Overpasses and bridges should be avoided until cleared by emergency services after an earthquake. People who live near the ocean should be alert to tsunami warnings, and people who live with others may want to establish an emergency meeting point so that if they get separated during an event like an earthquake, they know where to go to meet. It’s also important to pay attention to aftershocks, as some aftershocks can be as severe or more severe than the initial quake, causing further damage.
Once structures have been cleared for entry after an earthquake, people should be careful when opening drawers, cabinets and closets, as items may have moved during the earthquake. Waiting until all utilities have been cleared is also strongly encouraged, and people should stay away from broken power lines, signs of chemical spills, and sites flagged as dangerous by emergency services.
To be prepared for events after an earthquake, people should assemble an earthquake safety kit, which can also serve as a general emergency or emergency kit. Food supplies, clean water, medications, batteries, radios, flashlights, medical supplies, clothes, and blankets should all be kept in the kit, along with pet food and water. Many people also like to keep copies of important documents such as birth certificates, house and car deeds, and passports in their kit so it’s easily accessible as needed, and keeping cash handy is also a good idea. As a general rule, there should be enough supplies in an emergency kit to survive 72 hours without assistance.
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