What Would You Do in the Event of an Earthquake

What would you do in the event of an Earthquake??

An extract from Doug Copp’s (Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team

International)

Article on the:

'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years.

I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles.

It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. I am amazed that even today schools are still using the "Duck and Cover" instructions- telling the children to squat under their desks with their heads bowed and covered with their hands. This was the technique used in the Mexico City school.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

Tips for Earthquake Safety

(Continuation of "Triangle of Life" by Doug Copp)

1) Almost everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when buildings collapse ARE CRUSHED TO DEATH. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. That position helps you survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

Concrete slab buildings are the most dangerous during an earthquake.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Almost everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency (they swing separately from the main part of the building).

The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads? horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.

The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and lying in the fetal position next to their vehicles.

Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.

Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Coming Soon!

New Crisis Communications Courses @ The Justice Institute of BC

Stanton & Associates will be offering a new, interactive 2-day crisis communications course at the Justice Institute of British Columbia on the following dates:

·  October 28 - 29, 2008

·  December 2 - 3, 2008

·  January 20 - 21, 2009

·  March 3 - 4, 2009

The workshop will include use of the Institutes' Simulation Center for the final half-day of each workshop.
The JIBC is the only post-secondary institution in the world using Hydra software that was
acquired from Scotland Yard.
The software uses specialized audio and video that gives responders a chance to deal with realistic, life and death training scenarios in the applied learning lab.

For information on registration, contact the Emergency Management Division of the JIBC at www.jibc.ca

1/2 day Emergency Management Seminar

CSA Z1600- EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS CONTINUITY EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE
Successful emergency management means more than fast, effective response to unplanned incidents. It requires effective planning for prevention, mitigation, preparedness and for business continuity and recovery. Attendance at this half day seminar will provide you with an overview of the standard, its application to your organization and information about where to access additional tools to support the implementation of this standard in your organization. Attendees will receive an electronic copy of the standard.
Canadian Standards Association, in conjunction with Public Safety Canada and other stakeholders, presents CSA emergency management program standard. Z1600 is based on the NFPA 1600 standard; harmonization of Canadian and US standards helps reduce costs and complexities for companies which operate in both countries.
Z1600 is the first Canadian standard that includes emergency management and business continuity planning for private and public organizations of all sizes. Attendance at this half-day seminar introduces you to Z1600, providing additional tools to support the implementation of this standard in your organization.
Vancouver- October 14, 2008
Calgary-October 15, 2008
Toronto-October 16, 2008
Ottawa-October 17, 2008
To register -https://learningcentre.csa.ca/lc_site/be.asp?gid=50009573&tid=50038535
call: 1800-463-6727
Email:
For more information learningcentre.csa.ca

21st ANNUAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS CONFERENCE

Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, Vancouver, BC

Conference Dates: November 25- 27, 2008 Exhibition Dates:November 25& 26, 2008

Prior to September 19, 2008
$595.00 + $29.75 (GST) = $624.75

After September 19, 2008
$695.00 + $34.75 (GST) =$729.75

Contact

Mark your Calendars!

"Plan for Tomorrow, Today"

Program information will be posted on our web site www.epicc.org as it comes available.

Welcome!

EPICC is pleased to Welcome New Members who’ve joined this past month. It is great to have such support from all of our Members.

Thank you!

New Members:

Michael Cormack-

Ministry of Small Business & Revenue

Epicc News!

EPICC is pleased to announce that

Christine Trefanenko from Teresan Gas will be joining our Board of Directors.

We would like to Thank

Cari Kobialko for her contributions and the time she spend on the Board, as she has now decided to resign.

Thank you Cari!

legal risks & Solutions in Disaster Management planning
by Jay N. Rosenblatt, LLB

What if:

·  your electricity is disrupted for two days, OR

·  your computer network fails and is out of service for a number of days, OR

·  a key supplier fails to fulfil its supply chain obligations, OR

·  your neighbour’s building has burned down and you can’t get access to YOUR building?

By being aware of legal risk and the solutions, you will be in a better position to protect your assets: people, revenue, cash flow and resources.

Legal risks
There ARE legal risks to your business. Those risks impact not only the business itself, but also its directors and senior management. It’s all about legal vulnerability, mostly due to the real possibility of lawsuits and the related costs.

Solutions
The critical legal issues requiring attention are:
1. Contracts
2. Negligence
3. Employment
4. Workplace health and safety and regulatory compliance
5. I.T./Technology & Security

Contracts
The main contractual concerns relate to breach of contract and end-to-end supply chain fulfillment failures. How many businesses have provisions in their contracts to ensure that a supplier is required to fulfill the terms of its contract due to a disruption or disaster occurring at its plant? Has the business reviewed its insurance policy coverage, and especially the exclusions in its insurance policies? What happens when a subcontractor goes up in smoke?

Negligence
Negligence involves a failure to do what a reasonably careful and reasonably prudent person would do in the given circumstances. Simply put, it is a situation that produces a risk of foreseeable harm, creating a duty of care; liability occurs where care is not taken. The failure to do so makes a business vulnerable to lawsuits for negligence.

Employment & H.R. Issues
Your employees are your greatest resource, but also your biggest risk. Businesses have to be able to protect their employees from the impact of disruptions and disasters. These obligations come not only from court actions related to breach of contract and acts of negligence, but also from regulatory compliance issues. On the other hand, businesses have to protect themselves from their employees and their acts that can cause disruptions and crises.

Consider also the legal issues related to teleworking during a disruption or disaster and policies in order to protect yourself and your business from lawsuits

Workplace Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Compliance Requirements
There is an abundance of laws and regulations that set out a business’ health and safety compliance obligations to its employees. A disruption or disaster is no excuse to non-compliance, and non-compliance will have a severe impact on your business.

Health Preparedness
Although many people feel a topic such as pandemic preparedness is overblown, health is an important area of legal risk for business. Pandemic and other risks such eColi, SARS and intentional food poisoning will probably last a lot longer than those of a ‘normal’ disaster. Just because some are currently off the ‘radar screen’ is no reason to ignore the possibility of their occurrence.

Security
Security is one of the many obligations a business has to its employees. Add to that the requirement for plant and inventory security and the protection of critical technology infrastructure, and you have a growing list of concerns related to security during a disruption and disaster. Securing your confidential data (employee records, patient records, customer lists, marketing strategies, etc.) is vital in this regard.

So, Now What to Do?
Most businesses are not able to carry out a complete evaluation of their legal vulnerabilities and the required solutions without assistance. To assess your legal vulnerability satisfactorily and implement proper Due Diligence, retain the services of a lawyer experienced in advising on legal risks and solutions related to disaster management and business continuity. The risks are not just related to cash flow, some of which can be insured. The cost impact of a damaged brand and reputation may not be insurable.

Your choices are clear:

“WORRY & SPEND A BIT NOW, OR WORRY & SPEND A WHOLE LOT LATER!”

Jay Rosenblatt is a business lawyer at the law firm Simpson Wigle LLP. Jay was a speaker at EPICC Forum 2007.

EPICC would like to Thank

Conrad Guelke, Jay Rosenblatt & Jim Stanton for their contributions to this month’s newsletter

If you have anything that you would like to include on the next EPPICgram, please let us know! Lesley Carew