Earthquake experiences - anyone?

[Honeybee85]

I live in Asia with DH and DS.
It's night here and despite being very tired, I can't sleep.

We live in a country where earthquakes frequently occur and last night I was woken up at the dreadful sound of our phones going of because of an emergency message coming in, warning us for an upcoming earthquake. I rushed from our bedroom to DS room and literally 5 seconds later the whole house started shaking. I was scared as earthquakes up to scale 5 are usually not being issued a warning for so the emergency message meant they expected something very serious. On monday night we also got the warning and we were also scared but just like last night this was not a very heavy one (monday night was 5,5 and yesterday 4).
I feel a bit childish now but I'm scared to go asleep as obviously there's something going on since the past days and I'm scared to be woken up by that awful, frightening sound of the alarm again.
DH is quite relaxed about it, he grew up here and is used to it but I have no experience with heavy earthquakes and I'm afraid of what might happen. Did anyone experience them (as they're not common in the UK) and how did you manage to keep yourself safe?

I'm going to try to sleep (now that I shared my anxiety with all of you ) and will read any replies in the morning.

The Dudley 2002 'quake ?

because earthquakes are probably below rampant dinosaurs on the list of "things I expect in the UK", like many others I found myself being despatched to check the washing machine.

I lived in Japan for years, arrived just before the big Kobe quake of 1995, but had left before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The main precautions we took were: top priority - living in modern buildings which met up-to-date quake-proof construction standards; making sure all tall/heavy furniture was fixed to the wall, or preferably not having any furniture that could fall and be dangerous in a quake; keeping an earthquake kit rucksack by the door with emergency supplies of basic food, first-aid supplies, cash, copies of ID etc.

I found that I got so used to 4/5-level earthquakes that I barely noticed them some of the time. The biggest quake I was ever in was around a 6.8, with an aftershock almost as big a couple of hours later, and we were staying not far from the epicentre. We spent quite a long time under a big sturdy table that evening.

I think most developed Asian countries now have pretty good infrastructure, so you are much less likely to be trapped in a collapsed building if it is fairly recent. Even in the 2011 quake in Japan, which was huge, there were relatively few deaths from the actual earthquake - it was the tsunami that was the real killer.

Quakes do often seem to come in clusters, so you may have a run of alarms for a while and then nothing for months.

I was in Japan earlier this year, and woke up one morning thinking, did I dream it, or was there an earthquake in the night? So I checked online, and there had been a minor one (level 4, I think), which had obviously half-woken me up, but I was so unbothered that I just went straight back to sleep.

I hail from Christchurch, NZ, so went through Sept 4 2010, which was a 7.1, and Feb 22 2011, which was a 6.3.

We went through 15,000 aftershocks, I can't remember how many were mag 4 or over.

It's important to remember that the richter scale is a lot different to the mercalli scale, in which the forcefulness of the earthquake is recorded. An earthquake that is lower on the richter scale, can be a lot higher on the mercalli scale, because the depth at which the shaking occurs can be a lot closer to the surface, for example.

The best things you can do are fix furniture to the walls, make sure things that will cause damage to you if they topple over on you are fastened down. Blue tak or the equivalent is your friend for ornaments - or put them away!

Also educate yourself on how best to protect yourself in a quake - generally now they don't say get in a doorway, but do get under something solid, like a desk or table. Oh, and hold onto the legs, or you might see your desk or table bounce merrily away from you.

Do make sure you have water, torches, wind-up radio, basic rations. And chocolate.

With children, playing 'guess the mag'' helps lighten the mood - and everyone gets a prize. It's best if you can try not to show anxiety around them, and be very matter of fact. My two were five and seven at the time. Sometimes I managed this, sometimes I didn't. Try to keep them out of trees and not climbing rugby posts. . .

Thanks a lot @exexpat and @mbosnz!

I think we need to prepare a bit more here - I've started today with preparing emergency bags to keep by the frontdoor.
We have indeed stockpiles of water and food and DH is going to show me tonight what other things he already had prepared.
And special thanks for the tip to hold on to the table - I knew that hiding under it was the thing to do but wouldn't have thought to hold on to the legs .
Anyway you both made me feel a bit better, thanks a lot!

I second everything mbosnz and exexpat said. As long as you are prepared and follow instructions you should be okay. Don't rush out of the building while it is shaking if you are inside at the time. I still get scared if I feel one, but once it's over I take a few deep breaths and tell myself I am okay - it helps. I live in Canterbury in NZ - we are waiting for "the big one" but don't let it dominate our lives.

Remember the to hide in a triangle of safety, away from windows etc.

And with each passing quake the pressure is relieved.

I used to live in turkey and we got the quite regularly. Still used to scare me at times though when they were bigger. Sometimes the only way I knew we were having one would because the lampshade would be swinging

@eaglejulek

Same situation here - there is a 70% chance that a major earthquake aka the big one will directly hit our area somewhere in the next years, official governement calculation.
It really scares me when I think about it so I try to put it in the back of my mind.

@IHateCoronavirus yes indeed when they are over I also feel relieved. Usually they are quite noticeable here. I think it's because our house is made of wood, more flexibele in case of one but you also feel the shocks a lot more I think.

Hi @Honeybee85

I'm in Japan too - and those alarms this week nearly gave me a flipping heartattack [shocked]
sooo loud and then actually not such a big quake after all.
Someone said they were the alarms which cried wolf

All good advice upthread - I live in an apartment (manshon) that was built after the Kobe quake and its pretty sturdy (no damage in the 3.11 East Japan Earthquake) - I am hoping that when the Big One comes, our building will be relatively okay...
however we live on the coast and so the threat of tsunami is actually more worrying for me, I think.

My DH went out and got batteries for our torches yesterday and we have a small gas canister cooker for emergencies. We obviously have food and water stored for emergencies, and have furniture (kitchen cupboards, bookshelves, TV) secured so they don't topple over.
He is looking into getting a solar panel that would provide enough electricity to charge up all our iPhones (me, DH and two adult DCs living at home)

If you want to PM me, please do
I've been here for nearly 30 years and all this time, its been "a big quake is long overdue"

I lived in Umbria in 1997 at the time of the earthquake, rated 6.0, that destroyed a lot of the area in both Umbria & Marche.
The problem then was that there had been so many forequakes that by Sept 26th, most people were used to it by then.
It was only when my wardrobe started dancing across the room in the middle of the night that I thought 'oh this is serious' and stood in the doorway - no table in my room....
The larger quake happened that morning around 9-ish & we were all outside for that which was rather scary.
The aftershocks went on for ages - highest rating 5.6 - which would set off the fight or flight panic feeling again.
My friends completely lost their village. They lived in portacabins for over 2 years whilst the village infrastructure then their houses were rebuilt. In 2016 they slept in their cars until things calmed down - fortunately their houses had been rebuilt to correct specifications after the 1997 quake - there were lots of cowboys pocketing money & not following regulations - so there was minimal damage to the village.
I think they just accept that it's going to happen again at some point and certainly after the chaos of 1997, my friends are very prepared.

I live in San Francisco and have been in a few since I moved here 8 years ago. The largest was the Napa 6.0 a few years ago which also happened overnight for extra excitement. It is scary and I have never really got used to them, but the best thing you can do is plan.

For us that looks like:

• have an earthquake kit ready to go with survival stuff and enough food and water for 3 days (include some low denomination cash, any prescription meds and a solar phone charger).
• have a go-bag of warm and waterproof clothes by or in the earthquake kit. If you have a car both of these can live in your boot - we don't, so we keep them in a closet near the front door.
• have some shoes or slippers next to your bed - if there's a quake in the night you don't want to cut your feet on broken glass or shattered items.
• don't hang any pictures above where you sleep
• have a plan about where you'll meet if a quake happens when you're separated from each other. Higher ground if possible.
• follow your local emergency services/city/town authorities and earthquake warning site on twitter so you can easily find updates in an emergency.

I know it all sounds wildly over the top, when I first moved out here it seemed ridiculous, but now I just try to think that we've planned as much as we can so I just hope that if and when it happens, we'll be as ready as possible. Fwiw I'm generally quite a worrier, but I don't worry about this.

I am register blind and I’m frequently on my own… I’ve been through two earthquakes, one in the middle of the night… I was so scared, I didn’t really sleep much for the next month… Especially at night. Not much advice to add, I am very careful and when I’m somewhere that I know has earthquakes, I don’t put anything higher up, or anything even close to the edge of anything in case it might fall… In my case, if something falls and breaks, like glass… It would be very difficult to clean up.

I also pay a lot more attention to things like where the power mode where the powerlines might be, and where trees might be when I’m outside… I have supplies ready, and, very important but sometimes overlooked, make sure you know the emergency numbers of the country where you are… And make sure you know how to access information in a language that you know…

I'm another one just outside Christchurch, and second the comments about robust buildings... I'm in a street where over 50% of the houses either have been, or will be, rebuilt. Our new house is much safer than the old one (we had to stop using some of the rooms in the old one).

I'm from the UK so really had NO idea what to do. We now have:

• Grab bag (passports, certificates etc.)
• Enough water for a few days
• Enough food for a few days
• Medical supplies - DD has T1 diabetes; very important
• Camp cooker & fuel
• Battery-powered radio
• Plan to meet
• Plan if we can't meet
• Know to run the bath if there's a big shake while there is still water!
• Lots of stuff strapped to walls

We also have a lot of new crockery 🤣

If you want ideas for your own peace-of-mind, check out the resources on the NZ Civil Defence site.

We were in quite a serious one while staying in a holiday apartment on Skiathos.

It happened In the night; we were awoken by everything shaking and rattling,

DH always claims the worst thing was the searing pain in his chest caused by my trampling over him in my anxiety to get out of the room.

hellokitty that sounds terrifying. I too have lived through major earthquakes at night. I am very short sighted but not blind - I think you are very brave.

Very small one in Greece years ago - we were at breakfast in a small hotel - everyone looked at each other - was that an earthquake? Felt as if a very heavy lorry had just gone past, or someone had just slammed a door very hard somewhere near.

MUCH worse one in an Asian post-tsunami area where a dd was working. Dh and I were on a visit, staying in a modern city hotel. Woke in the middle of the night to feel as if a giant was shaking the bed very hard, all the hangers in the wardrobe rattling. Bloody scary! Especially since we were on the 5th floor, but as a new hotel it was apparently earthquake proof. Dh of course had to be all macho, the annoying arse, and say he merely found it ‘interesting’!! 🤬

In the morning we asked the staff about it, they were smilingly quite unconcerned ‘Oh, just a small one.’ (They are so used to them.). Later saw in a paper that it was a 6.1. So what on earth an 8 plus must feel like I dread to think! A 7 is apparently 10 times stronger than a 6! I am so thankful to live in a country where even tiny ones are so rare.

Living and working there, dd said she did become very used to them and stopped worrying, not that she was ever a worrier anyway - just as well!
Back home in the U.K. I did worry about her, though!