Today at 10:00 in the morning, we had our First Annual British Columbia Shakeout. Timed to coincide with the last Magnitude 9 earthquake in the Lower Mainland, which rocked and rolled us precisely 311 years ago, the Shakeout is a large-scale public eathquake preparedness drill. Some local radio stations played a cheesy sound effects clip to simulate the quake, and we as citizens had to take cover as best as we could.
Afterwards, in a fit of nostalgia, I decided to paint a re-creation of a famous scene from "Earthquake" (1974). Here's Lorne Greene heroically trying to save the life of an anonymous stuntman:
I tried for hours to find the name of the stuntman, but with no success. He's even a featured character in an episode of "Quantum Leap" (1989), but "Chad Stone" is a fictional name.
Mostly, I wanted to illustrate some forced perspective, make a cartoony painting (to somehow make an eathquake more fun, if that's possible), and to draw those kickin' vertical blinds flying into the air.
As for the guy hanging there... unfortunately, he falls out of the skyscraper before Lorne Greene can rescue him. However, budgetary concerns dogged the Earthquake production, so they did little to hide the very large, soft airbag that the stuntman eventually lands in. If you ever watch the film, the airbag is totally obvious.
What I learned from the Shakeout earthquake drill: you don't have a lot of time to make a good decision once the shaking starts.
- Try to get as low as possible under cover: a table or a desk.
- If that's not possible, curl up on the floor with your back to an inside wall.
- Cover your neck and head with one arm.
- If you can, try to hang onto something solid.
I learned not to grab too low to the ground: a bed leg could jump up and land on your hand, pinning you. Heading for a doorway won't help much: you'll get battered by the door. Our houses are built to withstand a strong quake, so we shouldn't worry about structural collapse. If the shaker is big enough to collapse homes, you're just playing dice with God anyways. The biggest immediate danger is to avoid debris that may be flying around. After the quake stops, count out a minute before getting up and evacuating the building (if possible). Grab your emergency kit and get out of Dodge.
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