Earthquakes & travel
 

Just curious, how many people here do some sort of preparation for natural disasters when they travel and what do you do to prepare? It's 7-Feb-23 and I'm watching footage of the 7+ earthquakes which hit Turkey & Syria. There's some pretty horrific scenes there. Certainly not the situation I'd want to find myself in, let alone find myself in unprepared.

I've lived in areas with hurricanes, tornadoes, and unreliable power grids for most of my life, so I usually travel with some amount of survival gear. I also sometimes get sent to areas before or after a storm to keep things going and rebuild if needed. The amount and types of gear, along with the hotels and accommodations vary based on what I'm expecting. You always have some warning with these though. Even a tornado isn't going to drop out of a clear blue sky.

Earthquakes are a different matter. I've been in a few mild 5s when on the road, and fortunately in decently-built buildings and power stayed on each time. I missed the 2018 Anchorage 7 quake by 1 month, although had a strange feeling that one was going to happen while I was there. Seeing the scenes from Turkey & Syria are making me think I probably should have something in the back of my mind and travel bag for earthquakes, but what? These are a disaster I don't know that much about.

I would be much more concerned about the local residents who lost their homes and livelihoods than my own personal safety while traveling - no amount of equipment is going to protect you from falling buildings, etc, so it seems more like a case of right place, right time, for transient travelers rather than something you could prepare for. Sure, you could bring a whole suitcase of disaster gear, but who wants to travel like that? I sure don't.

Exactly. The best (only) preparation is to know what to do in case of a disaster--any kind, not just earthquakes.

Earthquake-specific knowledge also helps.

Was in Northern California in December when a small earthquake shook the place a bit during the middle of the night. Was in a flat place in southern Sweden a couple of years ago when an earthquake shook things too. Spend a bit of time in mountainous areas/valleys far more prone to earthquakes than where I have historically spent most of my time, but basic earthquake safety knowledge is part of the lexicon for me even as I’ve never been caught in a big one and only had two seasonal family homes damaged by earthquakes over the years.

This BBC article has some of the pointers in mind that I keep in mind:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/2...-prone-regions

A safety whistle is something I got used to carrying back when the concern was crime. But sleeping with a whistle in hand just doesn’t happen and it’s not what I would be running for first when feeling the first tremors, useful as they are if trapped.

That's a bit rich of you. I lost my home of 30 years to Hurricane Ian last year. It's still uninhabitable today, ~5 months since the storm. My parents lost their home, and for that matter, half of the people I worked with lost their homes AND cars.

I consider myself lucky -- my home is damaged but at least it's still standing and can be rebuilt. So many of our neighbors' homes & businesses were completely washed away. The Gulfshore Inn had been there for 100 years through numerous hurricanes. In just a few hours it was gone -- not even debris left. The lot was scraped clean. 100% of the buildings on Fort Myers Beach were damaged. I still haven't heard numbers of how many can be salvaged and rebuilt. Even people 30+ miles inland had 4+ feet of water in their homes.

I evacuated to Volusia County ahead of the hurricane hitting the west coast of Florida...and ended up getting stuck as that location ended up getting 30" of rain, cutting us off from the main roads. I was in touch with neighbors in Fort Myers and coworkers throughout the storm. Comcast/Centurylink died early on and are still down in many areas, 5 months later. 2-way radios and cell were intermittent but worked well enough for short messages and calls. I knew my home was in trouble when neighbors were sending pictures of the generators' large propane tanks floating away and water over my garage. Reports from my office weren't all that much better, with buildings downtown having 4-6 feet of water inside them. The roof of our data center ripped cleanly off. I stayed in Volusia for awhile and went to a local church and offered to help, and there were no shortage of houses and trailers in the area which needed help. Moving furniture, tearing up carpets, tearing out drywall, repairing ACs & electrical, etc. I've never met these people before, probably will never see them again, but what was I going to do? It's not like I could go home.

I've been doing disaster management work for decades now. It was part of a previous job/life, but I still continue doing it today when nature acts out. I've lost count of how many hurricanes I've been a part of. Usually getting communications going again, sometimes power, or whatever needs to be done. Sometimes I'm there before, during, and after, sometimes just after, other times I'm the point of contact coordinating from outside the disaster zone.

...which is why I started this thread. I don't know much about earthquakes, but would like to know more.

And all that has what to do with earthquakes?

I agree with ElevatorEnthusiast, "no amount of equipment is going to protect you from falling buildings, etc, so it seems more like a case of right place, right time, for transient travelers rather than something you could prepare for".

I grew up in earthquake country, and I've been through many of them, most moderate, a few severe, including a 7.0. The best preparation is being in a well constructed building, not one where the construction company paid off local government. Absent that, there is very little personal preparation you can do, other than sleeping with your phone next to your bed and keeping its battery charged, and traveling with a small flashlight if your phone doesn't have one.

Once the quake starts, get down low, into the most secure space possible, such as under sturdy furniture or in an interior corner. Move away from windows, bookcases or tall furniture that could tip over, art that could fall off of the wall. DO NOT TRY RUNNING OUT OF THE BUILDING during the shaking. After the shaking stops, put shoes on and exit the building, look for a clear space away from downed power lines.

Oh, and one way to tell someone who grew up in earthquake country? They never hang anything on the wall directly above their bed.

I live in Japan, and have done since well before the 2011 quake, and can only second the above comments.

If travelling in earthquake country, do your best to be aware of your surroundings, e.g. know where emergency exits/staircases are, have an idea of the general layout/geography of the local area, read up on any disaster information relevant for the region. Carry cash (power/internet may be down and all the magical modern payment methods will be useless) and some sort of ID (passport or passport copy) with you where possible. Personally, when out and about in Japan, I always carry a small flashlight as I will want to conserve my phone's battery, and one of those insulating foil sheets in case I need to spend the night somewhere inconvenient, and some candy'n'stuff. Also a paper map in case I need to walk home - assuming mobile communications are available, they will be hopelessly overloaded; this was the case in 2011, and also last year when an earthquake knocked out the power in the Tokyo area for several hours. If you do experience a large earthquake, it would also be a good idea to try and send a short text message / email / chat message to anyone who might be concerned about you, telling them where you are, your current situation etc.

If near the sea, consider the possibility of a tsunami (if in Japan, and shortly after an earthquake you hear sirens going off accompanied by urgent-sounding announcements, drop everything RIGHT NOW and go as high as you can as fast as you can, either high ground or third/fourth floor of a solid building; do not attempt to flee by car).

I learned from a thread about fire safety here on FT to always know how many doors away is the emergency exit/staircase from your hotel room. That 'might' also help in an earthquake.

I hadn't considered identifying sturdy furniture in the hotel room. So, I think that part of this thread is great advice (so this thread has been very helpful).

I had a little flashlight I carry in my backpack with some other supplies, but it died, so this reminds me to get a new one before I travel.

I remember being on the 34th floor of some hotel in Mexico City thinking about what would happen if another big earthquake hit and I had no clue. Not sure if its a good idea to be higher up in a high-rise, or lower. I guess it really doesn't matter if the building fails.

I was taught to always keep a pair of shoes next to my bed in order to avoid broken glass. That is only 1 recommendation.

Yeah, wrong place, wrong time is kind of the thing with earthquakes and natural disasters. It's good be aware but if/when one hits there's not a lot you can do other than stay inside and try to shield yourself from falling items - in a doorway or under a desk are probably your best bet. In general, wood or metal framed buildings do better than masonry or stone in an earthquake - I imagine that's one of the reasons the Turkey quake was so devastating. All the pictures of the damage look like concrete/stone, etc.

Most high rise buildings built within the last 20 years sit on rollers which are anchored deep into bedrock; the structure itself doesn't move much. Ground surface in the Valley of México is generally paved over mud (think Jello), but even the 70 year old Latinoamericana Tower came thru the 8.1 quake in 1985 with no damage. It is very well anchored.

Using the SkyAlert app, the CDMX population gets an average 60 second warning from earthquakes occurring on the subduction zone 300 km away along the Pacific Coast. There is quite a bit that can be done in that time frame to prepare. There are now several apps applicable to USA states, but not yet advanced as Japan's or México's networks.

Fundamentally, earthquakes happen. There's no current accurate prediction method. This can apply to events such as flash floods, rogue waves.

They are different than other "disasters" in that you and anyone who has communication will receive some advance notice of things like hurricanes, tornadoes (if detected), major weather events, etc.

A reminder that one of the largest historic earthquakes in the lower 48 occured near New Madrid, Missouri back in 1812.

So prepare for earthquakes as you would anywhere. Travel or no travel.

David

Tough thing about earthquakes ti you can't predict and choose to visit or stay away during certain times of year in the way you can with weather-related disasters.
Living in California all my life and having been through a number of large quakes, it's a bit of second nature to expect it can happen at any time.

I was in Tokyo a few years back when a quake struck in the middle of the night. It woke me up and I rode it out. The next morning there was quite a buzz downstairs in the restaurant - mostly people who were from areas not prone to quakes.

Just always be aware of your surroundings and don't make things difficult for yourself in the event of any emergency where you might need to run/escape. Don't leave things in the middle of the floor in an unfamiliar hotel room where you'll like trip over them in the dark in a panic (this drives me nuts with my traveling companions). Keep your important items in an easily accessible place and in the same place every night (phone/wallet/glasses/keys).

Know where the exits are and what your evacuation plan will be.

Yep. Was with my family in NYC on board the ferry to the Statue of Liberty at the time of the 2011 VA earthquake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Virginia_earthquake). A 5.8 but in a region not particularly known for earthquakes of any sort and, when we disembarked from the ferry, there was huge response going on amongst those who'd been on the island given how much shaking that they'd felt.

How does one plan for exiting the Statue of Liberty post earthquake? Getting off Liberty Island besides by boat?

David