Earthquake Myths, Debunked
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you live in California long enough, you'll experience an earthquake. But will Fluffy or Fido give you a heads up? Do you know where to go in an earthquake? And is there really such thing as earthquake weather? Josh Rubenstein goes a-debunking.
Myth #1: You should seek shelter in a doorway during an earthquake.
In an area where homes were built out of adobe brick, people saw that the home's arched rock doorway was the only thing standing after an earthquake. So, the USGS's Erik Pounders says, if you live in a home made out of adobe brick, go ahead and go for the doorway. However, standing in a modern doorway can be dangerous – people bracing themselves in a doorway with a door that swings back and forth often get their fingers broken.
Myth #2: The Fire Department will show up at your door after an earthquake.
Firefighters do deploy after an earthquake to evaluate collapsed structures to determine if they can attempt to rescue people out of these structures, according to L.A. City Fire Battalion Chief Peter Benish. So, yes, firefighters will go to the place where there are the greatest number of people in peril. But they won't simply show up just to check on a home without visible damage.
Myth #3: Earthquake weather
Earthquakes occur hundreds of miles beneath the earth's surface and can happen whether the weather is sunny and hot, or cold and rainy. There is no relationship between the atmosphere and what's happening underground.
Myth #4: Seek the "Triangle of Life" in an earthquake.
The "Triangle of Life" theory says you can find safety on the sides of objects, like beds or desks, and you can find safety in that small triangle that forms in the case of, say, a collapsed wall or bookshelf. However, experts say the theory doesn't hold for two reasons. 1) Modern building codes cause walls to fall differently than that theory would hold. And, 2) in an earthquake, everything is still shifting and shaking.
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