The Importance of Drilling to Prepare for an Earthquake
On the anniversary of the Düzce earthquake, which took place on 12 November 1999, an earthquake drill was held simultaneously across Turkey at 18:57 by AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency). Drills are of vital importance in terms of knowing the behaviors we should do in case of an earthquake.
In the drill held on the 23rd anniversary of the Düzce Earthquake, attention was drawn to the collapse-trap-hold movement that formed the name of the exercise. It is very important to fix the belongings in the areas where each person lives, to keep the big cupboards that are likely to tip over, and to place the beds away from the glass edges in preparation for the earthquake. Since the items placed on the upper floors of the shelves or cabinets in the kitchen are likely to fall during an earthquake, it is necessary to take precautions against these sources of danger. It has been recorded that the deaths caused by the failure of fixing the furniture in the previous earthquakes were quite high.
It is important to stay calm during an earthquake and not to panic in terms of exhibiting the right behaviors. At the same time, it is possible not to make our children feel the panic during the earthquake, by keeping the parents calm. During an earthquake, people tend to flee to doors and balconies if no drills have been done beforehand, or when what to do and the right behavior patterns are not known.
The correct movement during an earthquake is the collapse-snap-hold movement. The squatting movement is the bending of the body forward after kneeling down on both knees. The trap movement is the closing of the head by taking it between the arms so that the head area is not exposed to impacts. Hold action is to take precautions against the risk of crushing by holding on to large-sized items such as seats during an earthquake.
