Immediate Safety

Hence, in case of an earthquake, the safest place to be would be in an open ground – away from all kinds of buildings and tall structures.

If you can not rush out of your building, you can duck under some sturdy desk etc. which might provide protection against heavy objects falling on your body.

If even that is not possible, sit against a wall, with your back pushing the wall firmly, and, lean forward – to take your head in between both your knees, and, put your hands at the back of your head – to provide protection to your head and spine.

Or, you could stand directly below one of the door-frame in your house. This one appears a bit strange to many people. In fact, there are jokes that after an earthquake – you don’t see all those door-frames standing. So, whats the reasoning behind advising people to stand below door-frames? In most styles of construction, doorframes are made very strong, or, would have a “RCC beam” running right above these frames. Either way, this “strong” structure would take the impact of objects falling from above, and, would break the impact of the heavy objects falling on the person. If you use this posture, remember to save your arms and fingers from swaying doors etc. If not careful, they could cause damage by chopping off fingers etc. due to the banging of the doors against the frame.