r/interesting • u/HomeNowWTF • 22d ago

NATURE Experiencing an earthquake in an airport

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u/IamUnbelievable 22d ago edited 22d ago

If these guys had studied basics of earthquake or just watched Doremon show, they would have known that one should hide under table during earthquake.

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u/ContributionParty577 22d ago

I’d be the person with the backpack hugging the large structural pillar

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u/TheTopNacho 22d ago

I'd be the guy Naruto running

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u/Spoon_OS 22d ago

I was wondering why he was doing the Naruto run

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u/RealParticular5057 22d ago

I believe running to get outside cause the sky can fall during an earthquake

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u/xDrakon 22d ago

Cus you move faster!

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u/partyatwalmart 21d ago

Off-screen, Madara is up to his old tricks. Shibaku Tensei-ing shit.

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u/Antares135 21d ago

*Pain

*Chibaku tensei

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u/partyatwalmart 21d ago

Doesn't Madara do a bigger one? And didn't he create the justu?

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u/pewpewyou 22d ago

The Naruto run was so fast that it caused all the debris to fall from the shockwave produced.

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u/shtsngigs_94 21d ago

I think the runners had the right idea after seeing what that ceiling got up to.

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u/Lanky-Brush-6884 22d ago

Thank you. I came here to say this

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u/PippaPothead 22d ago

Omg I saw that haha!

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u/Forward-Sky3464 21d ago

We would be him

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u/matteblackpeace 22d ago

Worst thing you could do cause if it goes down that’s the first thing that’s coming down crashing on you

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u/dankhimself 22d ago

It's a steel pipe filled with concrete, footed deep into the ground with more concrete. It's the last thing that would fall in an earthquake.

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u/LeakyAssFire 22d ago

Shit, it would probably be the last thing standing if the building went down.

That said, the material around the column in the ceiling is not as sturdy... but it is heavy!

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u/duxpdx 22d ago edited 22d ago

Not from an earthquake zone are you? Core structural supports increase your chance of survival should a structure fail as things will fall around you and these other areas tend to create voids in debris because they are reinforced and provide structural support.

Edit: not door frames though as those are only applicable in very select types of structures and are the exception and not the norm.

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u/erossthescienceboss 22d ago

The “doorframes” advice is a myth.

People thought doorframes were magically super stable because of earthquakes in LA and San Francisco. When buildings are built out of stucco, they crumble — leaving wooden, flexible doorframes behind. In a fully wooden house, there is no benefit from a door frame (and you’re in about the safest structure you can be, because it will bend and not crumble.)

Your number one goal in an earthquake should be protecting your head and neck, unless you can IMMEDIATELY get outside (and protect your head and neck.) going outside is only advice if you’re in an unreinforced masonry building.

In modern residential construction, more people die from falling objects.

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u/CitizenHuman 21d ago

I believe another issue (but I could be wrong) is that while a doorway will still sway and could break, especially if the quake is moving in the same direction as the door jambs.

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u/OrigamiMarie 21d ago

Also loose heavy stuff like furniture might just slide through the doorway and not care that you're standing there.

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u/CitizenHuman 21d ago

We were taught to grab the legs of our desk

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u/HopefulBuyer9077 21d ago

I’ve read the primary concern about being in a doorway is the door, itself. Studies showed a significant number of hand injuries due to people getting hands/fingers smashed or caught by the moving door panel.

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u/pinkybrain41 21d ago

We were always taught to get under a table and cover your head and neck.

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u/mstraveller 22d ago

Idk. The lots of corpses found in the Venezuelan earthquake near doorframes. So many firefighter videos saying that info is outdated now.

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u/Oliverisfat 22d ago

I'm from an area where they taught what to do during a hurricane, tornado and bombing threat but not what to do in an earthquake. So in this video, would the safe place to be to drag a table near a pillar under the overhang in the restaurant and hide under it? Would a tornado shelter be a good spot if it isn't underground?

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u/Angiebabynz 21d ago

Drop cover hold, right where you are (or within a few steps). Running for cover or running outside is just hard to do (it's like walking on a moving train with things dropping around you) and plenty of people who run outside in quakes are injured or killed by falling building facades, decorative masonry, and glass from windows above.

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u/matteblackpeace 21d ago

Im in colombia. Earthquake hit my family’s home hard. Do with that what you will.

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u/Fun_Composer5722 21d ago

So sorry to hear this. I hope your family and friends are unharmed and as safe as possible. The aftermath and challenges after an earthquake can be as harrowing as the earthquake itself. Take good care of yourselves. Sending hugs and support from Austin, Texas.

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u/matteblackpeace 20d ago

I’m sorry I’m late on a response but that’s incredibly touching and I thank you whole heartedly 🙏🏽❤️

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u/Narumin_ 22d ago

I lived in an earthquake zone most of my life and I was literally told to NOT stand under a door frame or pillar during an earthquake and instead try to seek shelter under the most solid furniture around me that wasn't going to tip over unless the exit was nearby. You actually talking about common misconception while being fully confident XD

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u/Diiagari 22d ago

There is a highly disputed viral theory known as the “triangle of life” that was proposed by a man in the 90s named Doug Copp, which theorized that survivors stand next to structural pillars that create voids. While virtually every earthquake preparedness organization disagrees with this idea as unfounded, it continues to live on as an urban myth. Rather than running around playing emergency architect, people should Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

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u/QueenInYellowLace 21d ago

They made that switch when I was around thirteen. I’m from slap bang on top of the San Andreas fault. My whole childhood, we were taught up find a doorway and stay in it. Then when I was a teenager, it switched to “doorways are pointless; get under the strongest furniture you can find.”

Being a child who experienced many, many earthquakes, I’m a very irresponsible person and mostly just ignore them.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/Ok-Scientist5524 22d ago

The table is supposed to provide a void, so if the whole thing comes down, you have a tiny pocket of air and maybe the ability to dig or wiggle your way out of the debris. It’s possible to end up in a void without the table and it’s possible to be crunched flat with the table, it’s just supposed to increase your odds considering the way debris will fall.

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u/Makere-b 22d ago

Some years ago, I heard that there's actually better survival chance in case of collapse if you are in between of the desks in a classroom, rather than under.

But I think the idea of going under the desk, is that if some of less heavy debris falls down, it doesn't hit your soft tissue.

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u/GoatPincher 21d ago

That’s literally the strongest thing in the building.

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u/davidjschloss 21d ago

As it became a non-structural one.

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u/ChemistryQuirky2215 21d ago

In a big open space like that, I think that makes logical sense. (Zero earthquake experience)

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u/ContributionParty577 21d ago

I’ve only had small ones. But pretty sure you don’t go near that mezzanine or near large glass windows that can crash on you….

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u/fondledbydolphins 21d ago

The idiot that saw shit FALLING ALL AROUND HIM and decided "meh, this is a good spot to be in" ?

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u/piratecheese13 22d ago

I think the camera man figured that out about halfway through the video

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u/DwarvenRedshirt 22d ago

I was under the impression that he lost his footing and fell, then slid under the table.

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u/sayko666 22d ago

Sorry but not always true. It only protects you from falling objects, from being thrown to the floor and if a ceiling or roof partially falls. This strategy assumes the building you are in "will sustain". If the building collapses you are pretty much dead under the table.

People who survived from major earthquakes under collapsed building are found always near big sturdy objects. lying near a big bed on the ground, near washing machine or some strong pillar. It really depends if you are in a first world or third world country.

Source: I am Turkish, lots of major earthquakes happen here and lots of people die because of buildings not built up to code.

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u/flyingthroughspace 22d ago

If the building collapses you are pretty much dead under the table.

To be fair if the building collapses you're probably pretty much dead anyway so might as well take some shelter if you can't get outside.

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u/alteransg1 22d ago

Americans are taught to hide under their desks, because it's the best advice for them. In Europe we're better off in a doorframe or near a load bearing wall. 

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u/Great-Egret 21d ago

I grew up in California, it’s because desks they buy have sturdy steel legs.

I remember a teacher driving this point home in high school by showing us a picture of a multilevel school in Mexico that had collapsed during an earthquake but the children in classrooms were mostly okay because the desks had protected them from the ceiling collapse.

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u/Signal_Interest7870 21d ago

Yes, it's all nice and well people are sharing their experiences but the fact of the matter is that every country has different building standards and so what works in one country may not work in another. The moral of the story is that as natural disasters become more commonplace every country needs to start having plans in place for when they become prevalent in areas they are not expected, BEFORE disaster occurs. Southern Ontario is woefully underprepared for tornadoes and it will remain that way until there is significant tragedy.

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u/MostView8191 21d ago

Interesting. In Canada we're taught both! Under tables if they're real wood and heavy, or else under a door frame or load bearing wall.

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u/alteransg1 21d ago

There's a lot of generational mixing. Up to the early 2010s we were taught near a structural element.

However, current recommendations seem to have shifted towards seeking stable cover. It makes sense, as there is a bigger likelihood of injury from falling debris, than structural collapse.

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u/Unknown_Gamer_A380 21d ago

Yeah we have a pool table in the house. That would be the first place I’d think to go because of the strong table legs.

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u/founderofshoneys 21d ago

It's because they want us to keep working while buried in the rubble.

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u/iSirMeepsAlot 21d ago

I’m glad I just deal with tornados… 🌪️ the world moving under me… just doesn’t sound very fun!

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u/sleeper_54 21d ago

-- "Americans are taught to hide under their desks, because it's the best advice for them."

It worked so well for our schoolchildren during the Cold War of the 1950s.

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u/swallowflyer47143 21d ago

Is it not correct to assume that if you are in a more earthquake prone area that the buildings are more likely built to sustain earthques thus protecting your squishy brain matter from falling debris particularly in a commercial/industrial setting that likely has high ceilings with fixtures is more important than getting near a load bearing structure to protect your entire body from a collapsing roof....

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u/auchinleck917 21d ago

In countries with robust seismic standards, you should move away from unsecured objects or take cover under a desk to protect yourself. If, however, you are in a country where buildings collapse at the slightest nudge, there is likely nothing you can do.

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u/Staminanow 21d ago

Triangle of life

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u/Gloomy-Cantaloupe-50 22d ago

I grew up in SoCal and we had regular earthquake drills and they teach you to get under your desk or table. I've also lived in Michigan as an adult and when I heard the tornado sirens I had no idea what to do. I've seen people on TV use bunkers but I was in an apartment building. Which is to say disaster preparedness is definitely not obvious and we all could use continuous learning!

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u/iosonostella13 21d ago

Basement if you have one, or bathtub covered with a mattress for tornados :)

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u/AlternativeElephant2 21d ago

I am the reverse. Grew up in Michigan with all the tornado drills and even active tornadoes with 20+ kids huddled into a bathroom or everyone going into the basement at home (or interior walls at any business).

Now live in Oregon and am thankful I had some “Great ShakeOut” drills in college otherwise I would be clueless. TBH I’m still pretty clueless of what to do in my home surrounded by 70+ year old trees but I do know not to get into the crawl space or a basement

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u/smittyleafs 22d ago

I live in a part of the world with no earthquakes, and I've somehow learned this at some point.

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u/onion_flowers 22d ago

What your brain knows logically doesn't always translate to what your body does during an emergency. Thats why we had earthquake drills often in school growing up in a place that did experience earthquakes.

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u/SpotonSpot873 22d ago

Yup. One of my professors was paid by the govt to show up after mass shootings and such to help people cope. He told me that so many people are killed because they see someone with a gun and take a deep breath in which can make them a 30% large target

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u/fuckman5 22d ago

Huh? So taking a big breath in makes you 30% larger? Are we talking humans or puffer fish? 

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u/SpotonSpot873 22d ago

Can is an important word there.

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u/sleeper_54 21d ago

I understand that to mean *stopping* to take a deep breath ...and *not immediately reacting* to the danger and seeking immediate cover or concealment.

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u/International-Bed453 21d ago

I live in the UK, where we do get earthquakes occasionally. For the two I've experienced, I was at home in bed!

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u/lawyerly333 22d ago

Thank you I was saying out loud get under the table. They obviously never had earthquake drills in school

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u/alteransg1 22d ago

Or, they come from a country where walls aren't made of plastic and paper. Where  the drill is to stand inside a doorway or a load bearing element.

Some people in the video got hit by minor debris, but if the upper floor and structure were to collapse, near that column would be the safest place.

The ones who did it wrong were the woman in red and man next to her. They confuse the flimsy cafe front window for an actual doorway/beam. 

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u/turdferguson3891 21d ago

You know commercial buildings in the US aren't made out of the same materials as single family homes, right? They use materials like steel frames and concrete just like you superior people do.

And the material used for the walls has little to do with whether a wood frame house would collapse or not. They have wood frame houses in Japan. In fact about 80 percent of the single family houses in the country are wood frame. Wood is flexible and does pretty well in earthquakes when constructed properly.

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u/ExpBalSat 21d ago

Seriously - look at all those tables going unused! Clearly - the most dangerous things in this entire scene are small those small gravity-driven projectiles falling from the ceiling. The building itself is not in danger.

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u/thirsty_pretzels_ 22d ago

These people clearly never had earthquake drills in elementary school

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u/Unique_Lifeguard_539 22d ago

This is accurate, been through a couple of earthquakes in Japan and that’s the first thing the locals do.

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u/kisuke228 22d ago

But NOT an Ikea table.

Those break easily.

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u/grumpyfan 22d ago

Or get out of the building!

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u/LilaPrince 22d ago

Só se estiver no térreo ou perto da saída

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u/nXomad22 22d ago

There's literally a bank of doors leading outside in camera shot. Ground floor or not im taking my chances out there

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u/09Klr650 22d ago

Nope. Not getting ANYWHERE near what could be plate glass.

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u/AngelTheMarvel 21d ago

That's glass, it'll brake or explode depending on the type of glass. Also, while running you have no protection against falling debris. Those doors lead to a bridge if you are on the second floor or are directly under that bridge if you are in the first floor, so it's not sefer there

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u/Ocon88 21d ago

You would have to walk down stairs and who knows what the condition of those are while the ground is moving so much like this. In airport terminals, you are still pretty high above the ground. Like 15 feet or so.

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u/Ocon88 21d ago

It is not easy to get out of an airport. Unless you know where the emergency exits are at.

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u/TurningTheCorner26 21d ago

And it's even harder when the airport is in motion.

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u/king_john651 21d ago

The biggest killer in earthquakes, that isn't complete structure failure of course, is debris falling. Leave after the shaking stops

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u/KiwieeiwiK 21d ago

No, terrible advice. Don't try and walk around during an earthquake, definitely not around any heavy objects that might fall.

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u/vdubjb 22d ago

Literally my first thought

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u/bullettenboss 22d ago

Same with Atom bomb...

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u/Momipiti 22d ago

Literally my first thought of what I would do if I was in that situation lol

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u/PassStunning416 22d ago

First thing I thought.

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u/SiliconSoil 22d ago

Drop, Cover, Hold On

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u/leberwrust 22d ago

Nope narruto run or bust

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u/Odd-Energy71 22d ago

This is what we were taught in the northern california school system. They drilled those drills so hard on us that I tried it in real life at home only to learn that 6 year old legs can barely walk over to a table during big earthquakes 😩😂

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u/CitizenHuman 21d ago

Due to my geography, earthquake drills were required in elementary and high school. I understand if not everyone has had that, but "duck under sturdy surface" and "avoid glass" should be pretty basic.

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u/Calm-Driver-3800 21d ago

Unfortunately the guy under the table got hit with a piece of the ceiling.

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u/Scorpionoshow 21d ago

It's wild how many earthquake videos I've seen and NO ONE seems to know to get under a table.

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u/StealenDealer 21d ago

Thank you…

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u/sk8tergater 21d ago

I grew up on a fault line and we’d do earthquake drills in school. You’d drop under your desk, hold onto a desk leg with one hand and cover the back of your neck with the other.

Good times.

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u/Chicago_Writes 21d ago

Saved by the Bell taught me everything I know

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u/box_twenty_two 21d ago

To be fair those cafe tables are tiny, I’m not sure I’d trust one to shelter me!

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u/Alarmed-Membership-1 21d ago

I was thinking the same. My first thought was these people are obviously not from a country that experience earthquakes because they don’t know the drill - hide under a table.

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u/LoafyLemon 21d ago

Shit, I've never experienced an earthquake myself before and I know things falling down may hit your head, but the table top can take it...

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u/hyliangoose 21d ago

Nah, they were near an exit, that's way some are running. Maybe some didn't feel capable of running fast enough tho

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u/That_wet_vaporeon 21d ago

?? I was taught to go under a doorframe (like that couple was doing) or some type of pillar. But I grew up in the Midwest so I never got to experience an earthquake (on this level)

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u/hlodowigchile 21d ago

It depends

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u/Spare-Condition3929 19d ago

I was screaming inside wondering why so many people were not sheltering under a table and watching as things started falling

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u/Puzzleheaded-Can-351 22d ago

that's just bad advice. Or advice for americans who live in paper houses. Hidding under a table will only get you crushed if a building falls. Sure, not in US because your houses are cardboard. But that's not the US and that building is concrete. Real advice is to stay next to one of the supporting structures of the building while covering your head. Or crouch next to, not under, next to a big sturdy object that can take most of the debree. Also with your head covered

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u/swallowflyer47143 21d ago

I would like to see the evidence of your arm protecting your head from a 50lb chunk of concrete debris. A vertical object to shelter you from debris..... , that's some grade a reddit advice there 😂

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u/turdferguson3891 21d ago

Hur dur dur US houses are made of cardboard!

You know 80 percent of single detached homes in Japan are wood frame? Wood frames do pretty well in earthquakes because they are flexible. Wood frame houses in California do well in earthquakes too.

And of course a fucking airport in North America isn't made out of cardboard. It's made out of steel frame and concrete just like any other commercial building.

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u/Menes009 21d ago edited 21d ago

that is outdated advice from when wood tables were made from real wood.

Getting under a plywood or MDF table is useless

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u/Few-Ad-3706 21d ago

I was getting pretty upset the guy didn't grab that woman and get under a table. She looked terrified (or I interpreted it as such). If they are married I hope he knows he failed.