Five things NOT to do when an earthquake hits--and one thing to always remember
Don't get caught working in DC. Because as we all know, DC does NOT do natural disaster well. (If you don't believe me, I can refer you to the ice storm last January, which stranded a lot of people for more than twelve hours. For all I know, there are still some folks out there searching for the Mercedes and Lexuses they abandoned on the George Washington Parkway that night.)
If you are in DC, don't get caught working in a high-rise office building. Mine buckled and swayed for what seemed like forever (but was probably only a few seconds). The ceilings and floors actually *rolled* around me, and trust me, that is not a feeling you want to experience.
Don't ignore your instincts. I was in a minor quake in California, and I still sat tight for the first few seconds, thinking, "We're on the East Coast, this HAS to be something else!"
Don't wait for anyone to tell you what to do. This is especially true in DC, which is full of people all too willing to tell you what to do--except when it counts. In my office, we didn't get an alert to evacuate until about an hour after the quake--long after everyone was already out on the street.
Get out of town as soon as you possibly can. I wish I'd followed this one. Instead, I stood on the sidewalk until our HR folks told us it was OK to go home, which was precisely the same time as every other HR department was saying the same thing to their folks. As a result, I and my co-workers were treated to an unscheduled outing across half of DC, searching for a Metro station that wasn't closed/overcrowded. It's lucky we all liked each other and enjoyed the sunshine. :)
And last but not least.....
Always, always, be grateful that it's a NATURAL disaster. The sight of DC in silent gridlock reminded me a little bit too much of 9/11. As sobering as this experience was, it could have been much, much worse. I don't think that's a bad thing to remember on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the worst disaster to strike our country.
I hope everyone on my f-list is OK and safe home! :)
If you are in DC, don't get caught working in a high-rise office building. Mine buckled and swayed for what seemed like forever (but was probably only a few seconds). The ceilings and floors actually *rolled* around me, and trust me, that is not a feeling you want to experience.
Don't ignore your instincts. I was in a minor quake in California, and I still sat tight for the first few seconds, thinking, "We're on the East Coast, this HAS to be something else!"
Don't wait for anyone to tell you what to do. This is especially true in DC, which is full of people all too willing to tell you what to do--except when it counts. In my office, we didn't get an alert to evacuate until about an hour after the quake--long after everyone was already out on the street.
Get out of town as soon as you possibly can. I wish I'd followed this one. Instead, I stood on the sidewalk until our HR folks told us it was OK to go home, which was precisely the same time as every other HR department was saying the same thing to their folks. As a result, I and my co-workers were treated to an unscheduled outing across half of DC, searching for a Metro station that wasn't closed/overcrowded. It's lucky we all liked each other and enjoyed the sunshine. :)
And last but not least.....
Always, always, be grateful that it's a NATURAL disaster. The sight of DC in silent gridlock reminded me a little bit too much of 9/11. As sobering as this experience was, it could have been much, much worse. I don't think that's a bad thing to remember on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the worst disaster to strike our country.
I hope everyone on my f-list is OK and safe home! :)