why are doorways the safest place to stand in an earthquake?
In: Engineering
Both walls and ceilings can fall on you during an earthquake. (Your floor is somebody else’s ceiling.)
A wall normally falls either toward the inside of the building or toward the outside. A wall rarely falls straight down. Therefore, the safest place is in a doorway. If the doorway falls as well as the wall, the door frame will protect you from large pieces of wall or ceiling crushing you. (Small pieces mostly give you bruises.)
A ceiling, on the other hand, will usually fall straight down. The safest place to be during an earthquake is not under a ceiling. If you are in a building, this means you are in a doorway.
Latest Answers