r/interesting • u/HomeNowWTF • 22d ago

NATURE Experiencing an earthquake in an airport

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

15.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

634 comments sorted by

View all comments

69

u/Malawakatta 22d ago

That couple on the left are standing right next to a table. Here in Japan, even children are taught from a young age to quickly get under a table to help protect themselves from falling debris during an earthquake.

5

u/sammywammy53b 22d ago

Stupid question, but in somewhere as busy as an airport, what happens if there aren't any tables/aren't enough tables to retreat under?

14

u/AsYooouWish 22d ago

You want to get to a doorway or staircase. They are the most reinforced parts of a structure so the least likely to collapse. Tables are actually a secondary spot to shelter under because they would shield you from debris falling (like you see coming down). The couple that you see are actually in a better spot and did the right thing by staying put, but they should have crouched down and covered their heads. Even their suitcases would have been good cover to protect from debris.

5

u/Tribalbob 21d ago

Meanwhile the people running through the airport, not so smart.