The ground is shaking, the building is falling around you, and you are hiding under your desk hoping that you are going to make it out of the situation safely. The trembling stops and you seem fine, but as you look up at the house that you have lived in for twenty years, you realize that you are not fine. Yes, your physical body has remained uninjured, but your house was not as fortunate. The structure of the house has clearly been damaged very badly, and you know that your house will never be lived in again. As confirmation of your worst fears, the building inspector condemns your home within the next week. Without any alternatives, you are left alone and homeless, with no viable options to save yourself.

You have just experienced an earthquake, and you were left unprepared. There are no real methods to predict when an earthquake will occur, as was shown in the recent fiasco on the East Coast. While you cannot predict an earthquake, there are ways to protect yourself if one were to strike in your area. Some tips that could help protect you are:

• Stay inside and under a sturdy object
• Try to stay close to interior walls
• If outdoors, try to stay in an open area away from trees and other potential falling objects
• Stay away from shelves or other objects that may fall
• Don’t rush for any exits
• Don’t Panic!