Response from Chief Executive of the NZ Earthquake Commission

We published an article entitled "Tips for Earthquake Safety" earlier this week. This article stirred quite a strong response from some of our readers, amongst them Mr David Middleton, Chief Executive at the New Zealand Earthquake Commission. Mr Middleton sent us an email and has agreed to allow us to publish it here in response to the article.

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The latest GrownUps newsletter includes earthquake safety advice based on something that has been around the internet for about a decade.  The writer, Doug Copp, has been exposed as a charlatan.  He has not held the positions he claims or had the experiences he cites. The examples he quotes to support his contrarian views are bogus. I attach one article from an academic that exposes Mr. Copp; there have been others.

The danger Mr. Copp presents is his criticism of perfectly sound advice – that which we provide in this country.  What we tell our children at school, to “drop, cover and hold” is the best thing to do when an earthquake is felt, to protect the head and vital parts. Door frames are likely to be the strongest structures within a building close to people, so bracing oneself in a doorway is also good advice.

The “triangle of life” idea is not original to Mr. Copp and it is not bad advice, either. Obviously, people will survive in collapsed buildings if they happen to be in an airspace. The problem is recognising one either ahead of time or in the seconds people have to decide what to do when everything starts shaking.

A lot depends on individual circumstances.  For example, simply rolling from your bed onto the floor if an earthquake occurs in the night is fine - provided you have a stout bed that is higher off the ground than your recumbent form and is strong enough not to collapse or roll onto you.

What should you do about earthquake safety?  To summarise by borrowing from the attached article:

• Think through personal scenarios in the places you live and work. What spots seem safer than others?
• Make your environment safer by fastening tall and heavy furniture and audiovisual equipment,
• Move heavy objects down low.
• Keep shoes and flashlight by your bed.
• During the shaking, drop down to the ground. Cover your head and neck. Hold on to your cover or something stable.
  

Two more points.  Our Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has good advice about earthquake safety – go to their website or get in touch with them.  And don’t accept contrarian views on the internet without other validating information – there is no quality control in the Cloud.

David Middleton
Chief Executive
Earthquake Commission

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