r/interesting • u/HomeNowWTF • 22d ago

NATURE Experiencing an earthquake in an airport

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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.