How to Survive an Earthquake

By Andrew Frechette
The smell of dust from rubble in the air. The trembling of the ground beneath
where youre standing. You know there's been an earthquake in this area before,
so what will you do?
An earthquake is a shaking of the earth because of the moving of the
tectonic plates inside the Earth. This guide will show you how to prepare before
an earthquake, survive one, and what to do after the
earthquake has occurred, for instance, Nepal has just
had one of the biggest recorded earthquakes in
history. The earthquake happened on April 25th, 2015,
and the epicenter (starting point of an earthquake) on
the earthquake was
between Kathmanda and
Pokhava. The casualties
have been estimated at
5,000 dead and 10,000
injured. Since the earthquake is recent, the
numbers could still go up because of people that
have not been found yet. If many of the people in
Nepal and its government knew how to prepare,
survive, and deal with the earthquake at the time,
many lives could have been saved.

Preparing for the

Earthquake
1. You should always have is a first aid kit in
your house that has alcohol to cleanse
injuries and something with which to wrap
the injury.

2. Keep batteries for flashlights and radios.

3. Know where warm clothes are or have a

back-up heater in case of cold nights if the
heat is broken from the force of the
earthquake.

4. Keep important personal possessions in a safe.

5. Have an escape plan during the earthquake.

During the Earthquake

1. Look for a way out of the building. Inside of a

building is the worst place to be in an
earthquake.

2. If unable to get out of the

house, find cover such as
under a table.

3. Once under the table, curl up

into a ball. If you are in that
position, you will be a smaller
target for rubble and harder to
hit.

4. Get away from heavy objects because they

could fall onto you.

5. If youre outside, stay away from buildings

because they can collapse from the earthquake.

After the Earthquake

1. Expect aftershocks! They can happen up to weeks
after the main earthquake has occurred.

2. If trapped, shout for help and don't move. Moving

can cause the rubble to shift and cave in.
Earthquakes strike without warning so be prepared!

Bonus Facts:

* Earthquakes happen very occasionally in Maine. Most of the earthquakes that

occur in Maine are less that a 2.0 so they are not felt.

* The largest ever recorded earthquake in Maine was a 5.1 on March 21, 1904
at 6:04AM. It was felt throughout Calais and Eastport, Maine, and at St.
Stephen, New Brunswick, New England and the Provinces of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, Hudson River and Montreal, Canada, and south to southern
Connecticut. The earthquake made chimneys on houses fall throughout Maine.

* There is a 62% chance that Chicago will have a earthquake worse than a 6.7
by 2032.

Richter scale: Named after Charles F. Richter, the Richter scale is a scale for
showing the magnitude of an earthquake. Earthquakes that cause the most
damage usually range from about 5.5 to 8.9 on the Richter scale.

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