Social media videos show how people react during an earthquake

Footage from the 2018 Anchorage earthquake shows that people react differently in public and private spaces.

By Davitia James, Temblor Earthquake News Extern (@davitiaa)

Citation: James, D., 2021, Social media videos show how people react during an earthquake, Temblor, http://doi.org/10.32858/temblor.232

After a major earthquake, social media feeds are often flooded with videos of rattling furniture, swaying lamps and startled people. Experts often advise that the safest action is to drop, cover and hold on when shaking starts. But in these chaotic moments, people can react unpredictably, putting themselves at risk.

A group of researchers is using social media videos and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to find out what people do when an earthquake strikes. The recordings, filmed during a magnitude-7.1 earthquake that struck near Anchorage, Alaska, in 2018 are helping the group figure out better ways of advising those in earthquake prone regions. This research was presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall 2021 meeting by Dare Baldwin, a psychologist at the University of Oregon working, with students and an interdisciplinary team at the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Earthquake intensity map from the 2018 Anchorage earthquake. Credit: USGS

Watching for reactions

The team used the videos to find out how people’s reactions are affected by the amount of shaking. This baseline is important for future investigations of how earthquake early warning systems influence behavior, says Baldwin. A similar study from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake found that no one captured in CCTV footage followed all “drop, cover and hold on” actions.

Baldwin and her colleagues determined where the Alaska videos were taken using metadata and openly available information. They matched these locations with the USGS ShakeMap to compare shaking intensity with what they saw in the videos. The team identified what people did in the moments during and just after the earthquake. They saw a variety of actions including evacuating, running around, freezing and taking cover.

People act differently in public

The researchers found clear differences in the type of actions taken in public (schools, courtrooms, and airports) versus private (houses, apartments) spaces. Reactions evolved as the earthquake progressed, but generally the “drop, cover and hold on” sequence was more common in public. In private, people more often took shelter in a door frame, which highlights that this antiquated advice is still reverberating through earthquake country.

This is what happened on the 6th floor of the Nesbett Courthouse during the Anchorage #earthquake. Both attorneys jumped under their desks. Evacuated the building after the shaking stopped. pic.twitter.com/dqHGPCv6XO

— Heather Hintze (@HeatherHintze) November 30, 2018

Responses like checking on others took place in both settings. In private settings, adults’ responses were often delayed by searching for children. While in public, adults are generally close to their children and can act with them immediately, Baldwin says. But at home, they are often in a different room, and it can take up to a minute to find them.

Earthquake drills for all settings

“We think that earthquake early warning can give people crucial seconds of advanced preparation time to get down and under cover before shaking begins,” says Baldwin. She also says that continued education and outreach campaigns for a variety of physical and social settings — such as ShakeOut drills — will be critical to getting people to understand the best way to use those precious extra seconds and trust that the rest of their household knows what to do too.

The team plans to apply this method to other earthquakes and perform comprehensive modeling that considers a wide range of conditions to determine the best outcomes across a variety of earthquake experiences, Baldwin says.

References

Baldwin, D., (2021, 12 13-17). Video Analysis of Earthquake-Related Behavior: Understanding Influences of Social and Physical Context [Oral presentation]. AGU, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Further reading

Lambie, E., Wilson, T., Brogt, E., Johnston, D., Ardagh, M., Deely, J., Jensen, S., and Feldmann-Jensen, S. (2017). Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Earthquake Behavior Coding Methodology: analysis of Christchurch Public Hospital video data from the 22 February Christchurch earthquake event. Natural Hazards. 86. 1-18. 10.1007/s11069-016-2735-9.

Bukchin, BG, Fomochkina, AS, Kossobokov, VG, and Nekrasova AK (2020). Characterizing the Foreshock, Main Shock, and Aftershock Sequences of the Recent Major Earthquakes in Southern Alaska, 2016-2018. Frontiers in Earth Science. 8. 10.3389/feart.2020.584659

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos