What To Do While Trapped in a Collapsed Building After an Earthquake

I saw a demo on TV about a brilliant way to help rescuers immediately locate trapped victims of a collapsed building after an earthquake. They fitted a penlight and whistle together, attaching them to a necklace which people can wear to their workplace, school, or wherever. If they find themselves trapped after an earthquake, they can blow the whistle to alert rescuers and use the penlight to see through the dark.

Blowing the whistle 3 successive times means you're trapped and need help. You repeat it every 1 minute, or each time you hear rescuers nearby. Rescuers would then blow on their whistle one long time to alert you that they've received your distress whistle and have located you.

I'd like to add a few helps from my own.

Survival Kit in Beltbags

Since belt or shoulder bags are in for both sexes, I recommend that people always bring with them mini survival kits that have the following, aside from wearing the whistle and penlight necklace:

• Mobile phone (some models have built-in penlights)
• A small bottle of mineral water.
• Two mini packs of biscuits.
• Small bottle of alcohol or betadine.
• Small pack of cotton, gauze, and plaster.
• Candies

These could be packed in a small box easily fitted in a belt bag or shoulder bag. It's been my habit keeping extra biscuits, candies, a bottle of alcohol and water, and a cell phone in my belt bag even before the big earthquakes hit New Zealand and Japan. I realized long ago that any emergency can suddenly happen and I must be ready even in small ways. I guess, when you're maturing in age, you think of everything and become a bit more too cautious.

Survival Kits in Workplaces

Survival kits with the same contents above should also be placed in workplaces, like under desks, tables, in room corners, hallways, and rest rooms, among others. Not only that, they should be in cars, schools (under each desk), homes, etc. In case of a building collapse, victims have a supply of basic needs easily accessible to them to last them for a few days if taken in minimal amounts.

I read somewhere that if you're right in the middle of a landslide, the first thing you should do is keep both hands covering your nose and mouth. Doing so would make enough breathing room for your nose and mouth even if you find yourself covered with soil or sand. Most casualties during landslides, the article said, was due to soil entering the nose and mouth, suffocating the victims to death.

With the hands on your nose and mouth, you can begin slowly digging into the soil for more breathing space. Compare this if your hands are at your sides or anywhere else but on your nose and mouth. You won't be able to immediately free your face from debris.

Another thing, if you're thinking of digging yourself to freedom during a landslide, you might just be digging deeper into the ground, burying yourself in the process, instead of digging up to freedom, say experts. Inside a landslide it would be hard to know which is up or down. Thus, it's better to just make enough breathing room for your nose and mouth and wait for rescue.

Trapped in a Collapsed Building

From what I've read from experts--and having your survival kit with you--here are things to do if you find yourself trapped after an earthquake:

• Check yourself for injuries. Can you move all your body parts? Is there pain anywhere? If there's bleeding, then you can use your survival kit for first aid.
• Listen for other survivors. There's strength in numbers.
• Blow your whistle each minute. Blow 3 successive blows then wait for a response. If you're in a group of survivors, take your turns whistling. Don't whistle all at the same time. You won't hear rescuers' response, and you'd lose your energies at the same time.
• Pray! God sees where you are and he can make things happen. Nothing is impossible to him.
• Think positively. Never entertain doubt. Don't panic. I have proven several times that during a deadly emergency it really pays to keep calm, be positive, and never panic.
• Slowly nibble at your food supply in your kit, and conserve energy and water. Just wet your lips and tongue from time to time. If worse comes to worse, hankies and tissue paper may come in handy as "food."
• Always look for a light source, even a small one. If you see one and can manage to squeeze yourself to it, do so carefully.
• Do less activity while trapped to conserve your energy and regulate your oxygen intake. If you panic or keep moving, you breathe in more oxygen, and oxygen is often in scarce supply in trapped or closed areas.