Yesterday, we had an earthquake drill. At 10:00am, we were supposed to “drop, cover, and hold on” (does “duck and cover” sound familiar). Since I am all for this kind of prevention, I participated. Apparently, I was about the only person who did… After five rather dull minutes (no people playing wounded, no paramedic coming to check on me), a rather puzzled colleague inquired what I was doing and whether I was ok. Apart from the fact that the space under my desk is rather dark and claustrophobic, I was, and I would have been in case of a real earthquake. That is, unless the building collapsed. In that case, you should sit next to your desk and hope that the falling debris forms a cave around it.
Given that I work on the fourth floor of a 12 storey building, I am not convinced that would help much…
It might be better to be in an elevator, since those swing freely in a concrete shaft inside the building (outer walls are the most dangerous ones). Unless the cable snaps or a fire breaks out.
I guess you just have to hope the architects did their best and you manage to stay away from the windows and outer walls when an earthquake hits. And if “drop, cover and hold on” helps―so be it.
I’d still rather not try it…