Some 5 million people are today taking part in the Great Southern California Shake-Out, a drill based on a pretend earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale.
In view of the number of fault lines and earthquakes in the region, it is undoubtedly a very good idea to prepare for the worst, and could potentially save many lives.
However, I do feel that the motto "Drop, Cover and Hold"
and the underlying message are reminiscent of the 1950s "Duck and Cover" campaign:
The latter may have been about how to react to a nuclear attack, but both suggest that cowering or hiding under a table is enough to survive the effects of such disasters - which perforce also include collapsing buildings. So unless tables are much stronger in the US than in Europe, I would guess that the practice is as useless a survival tactic as cowering in the event of a nuclear explosion.
1 comment:
There is some protection from a table top! The poor English folk, suddenly threatened by German bombs and totally unprepared and without any decent shelter, so for instance Peter and his mother in the poorer quarters of York City, had no other option than to hide under tables or under the wooden stairs. It is also a psychological help to know that you only have to "hold on"!
By the way, when Ben was here in Oxford for the first time, he experienced an earthquake of the magnitude 4 and was quite put off. He nearly woke Peter and me, but than it stopped (needless to say, we slept through it all).
WELL, YOU ARE FAR AWAY FROM ANY TREMORS, I GUESS.
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