THE WORLD AROUND US: April 2011

Apr 4, 2011

Where to Go During an Earthquake

Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S 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, and 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.

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 - NOT under 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
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building 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. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, 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.

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) Most 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 sitting or lying 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.

Spread the word and save someone's life...

The entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Subject: Save your life with "The Triangle of Life"

"Triangle of Life":
Without listening or reading, simply by looking at the following self-explanatory photos, you can learn more than in a thousand words about how to protect yourself during a major earthquake...

If you are inside a vehicle, come out and sit or lie down next to it. If something falls on the vehicle, it will leave an empty space along the sides. See below:

Source：國際救援小組（ARTI），網址：http://www.amerrescue.org/
American Rescue Team International（ARTI）is said to be the World's most experienced rescue team and disaster management-mitigation organization.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 11:45 am

Dear Readers,

Sai Ram. Here is an update on Swami’s health.
As was announced earlier, Swami had a pacemaker implanted on the evening of Monday, March 28. Following this, on March 29, Radio Sai broadcast a statement released by Dr. A. N. Safaya, Director, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prashanti Gram. As we said then, the procedure was completely successful, Swami was doing fine, and also had a good night’s rest.
We did not broadcast any subsequent bulletins because the hospital authorities assured us that all Swami needed now was some good rest and of course, in a sterile atmosphere.
Meanwhile, we have received numerous enquiries expressing great concern and anxiety, which is perfectly understandable. By way of reassuring all devotees and also by way of strongly refuting the flood of baseless rumours floating all over on various media, Radio Sai wishes to make the following categorical announcement:

1. After the procedure on March 28, senior doctors are on constant attendance.
2. Repeated checks of all relevant body functions are being made, and all are absolutely satisfactory.
3. Everything is being done to assist speedy recovery, as also to ensure maximum comfort for Swami.
4. Meanwhile, upon seeing the news bulletin about Swami in the press, several leading doctors of the country rushed here, including Dr. P. Venugopal, the eminent heart surgeon from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

(It may be recalled that Dr. Venugopal performed the first and the historic surgery on the morning of 22nd November 1991, immediately following the inauguration of Swami’s hospital in Puttaparthi by the then Prime Minister Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao.)

Dr. Venugopal came here to personally make sure that all that ought to be done is being done.
We are happy to inform you that Dr. Venugopal as well as all the other doctors who came here are completely satisfied that everything is fine and there is absolutely no need for any anxiety.

The unanimous opinion is that the more the rest that Bhagawan gets, the faster would be the recovery.

In view of this, we earnestly appeal to one and all to continue offering prayers of Love emanating from the Heart. And kindly,PLEASE DO NOT send e-mails to each other based on all kinds of unfounded rumours, of which there are more than what we need.
Let us not spend our time and energy gathering news from any source possible most of which we know is unauthentic and baseless. Instead let us spend every second in prayer, meditation and most important practising His teachings.
God, who is above TIME, wears a human form to be amongst us not only to shower His Love and Grace, but also to show us how to sanctify Time. This is the hour when, if we are really serious and concerned about our dearest Swami, we must do what pleases Him most.
And what is it that pleases Swami the most? Let us listen to this:

Let us all remember that Swami is in every being. Let us broaden our hearts and serve Him by reaching out to the needy. This is what will make our Swami most happy.
Let us think of Him constantly to the exclusion of everything else. Let us love Him more than we have ever done before. Let us pray to Him to return to good health so that He is with us, amongst us, in the ashram.
Thank you very much. Sairam.
Regards,
Radio Sai Team.