Drop-Cover-Hold in offices and schools, elevator safety, high-rise behaviour during shaking, and post-quake evacuation and accountability procedures.
Most earthquake safety guidance is written with a home in mind. But the average working adult spends 40 or more hours per week in a workplace environment that presents a very different set of hazards — and a very different set of decisions to make.
An office building has different structural characteristics from a residential home. A school requires child reunification protocols that go far beyond personal safety. A high-rise building will sway in ways that feel terrifying but are often safe by design. An elevator during an earthquake is a specific and often misunderstood situation.
Knowing how to behave correctly in each of these environments — and having that knowledge embedded before you ever need it — is what allows calm, effective action in those critical seconds.
The core instruction for indoor earthquake response is DROP, COVER, HOLD ON. In a workplace, executing this correctly requires knowing your environment.
Drop to your hands and knees before the shaking throws you down. This position protects you from falling while still allowing movement if necessary.
Do not run for a doorway. The myth that doorways provide protection in earthquakes comes from observations in adobe structures, where the door frame was often the strongest element. In modern framed construction, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the building and provide no special protection. You are safer under a sturdy desk.
Move under a sturdy desk or table if one is within reach — you should be able to get there in one or two steps without standing. Hold on to the desk leg to move with it if it moves.
If no table is nearby, move to an interior wall away from windows and exterior walls. Cover your head and neck with your arms.
Specific hazards in office environments:
Hold on to your shelter until shaking stops. The instinct to get up and run during shaking is dangerous — most injuries happen when people try to move during shaking rather than sheltering in place.
⚠️ Do not run outside during shaking. Falling glass, building facades, and masonry from building exteriors cause serious injuries. Wait until shaking completely stops before moving.
Elevators have seismic safety systems that detect shaking and respond automatically. Understanding this prevents panic in the elevator during an earthquake:
Modern elevators in seismically active areas are equipped with:
If you are in an elevator when an earthquake begins:
If the automatic levelling system fails and the elevator stops between floors:
After an earthquake, do not use elevators even if they appear to be working normally:
Modern high-rise buildings are engineered to flex rather than resist earthquake forces rigidly. A building that moves with seismic energy dissipates that energy; a building that resists rigidly can fracture.
In a tall building during a major earthquake, you may experience:
All of this can be occurring while the building is performing exactly as designed. The movement is not evidence that the building is failing.
This is counterintuitive but critical: do not attempt to evacuate a high-rise building during shaking. On stairways, the swaying motion of the building combined with falling people and debris creates serious injury risk. You cannot run down 30 flights of stairs faster than an earthquake shakes.
The correct action is DROP, COVER, HOLD ON at your location until shaking stops completely. Then assess and evacuate in an orderly manner.
Once shaking stops:
Schools in seismically active regions conduct regular earthquake drills. The procedure is the same DROP, COVER, HOLD ON, but adapted for classroom environments:
Teachers maintain accountability: they know who is in the classroom and report to the assembly point with the class roll.
One of the most stressful post-earthquake situations for parents is not knowing how to retrieve children from schools. Schools have reunification plans for this reason:
Key parent responsibilities:
What schools will do:
Being outdoors during an earthquake is generally safer than being indoors — but only if you are away from buildings and other structures.
Primary outdoor hazards:
If caught outdoors near buildings during an earthquake:
Safe distance: A minimum of one building height from any multi-storey building, ideally more. This accounts for debris that may fall outward.
Multi-storey car parks (parking structures) are often among the more vulnerable structures in earthquakes. Precast concrete parking structures in particular have a history of partial collapse in earthquakes.
If in a car park during an earthquake:
Many organisations have post-earthquake accountability requirements. Even where not formally mandated, accounting for all staff after an earthquake is essential:
Before an earthquake:
After an earthquake at work:
| Location | During Shaking | After Shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Office desk | Drop to floor, shelter under desk, hold on | Assess, check for hazards, evacuate via stairs |
| Elevator | Press all floors, exit at first open door, crouch in corner if stuck | Do not use — take stairs |
| High-rise floor | Drop, cover, hold on at location — do not run to stairs | Orderly stair evacuation, go to muster point |
| School classroom | Under desk away from windows, hold on | Remain with teacher until ordered to assembly |
| Car park (on foot) | Drop between vehicles or in doorway | Exit via stairs, leave structure entirely |
| Outdoors near buildings | Move to open space away from buildings, drop | Stay back from buildings, watch for aftershocks |
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Earthquake starts at your desk | Drop, get under desk, hold on to desk leg |
| No desk nearby in open office | Move to interior wall, cover head and neck, drop |
| Earthquake starts in elevator | Press all floors, exit at first open door |
| Elevator stops between floors | Crouch in corner, use intercom, wait for rescue |
| High-rise building swaying severely | Drop, cover, hold on at your position — do not run |
| Shaking stops in high-rise | Assess, evacuate via stairs, do not use elevators |
| Child at school during earthquake | Wait for reunification plan; go to designated reunification site with ID |
| Outdoors when shaking starts | Move away from buildings to open space; drop |
| In multi-storey car park | Stay in vehicle if in car; crouch between cars if on foot |
| After earthquake at work | Report to floor warden, go to muster point, wait for accountability |
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