Contact | RSS | EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU

Be Earthquake Prepared - What To Do When A Quake Hits

Updated: May 24, 2023 07:05 GMT -
Drop, Cover, and Hold On - the most widely accepted general rule in case you are caught in a quake (source: Earthquake Country Alliance)
Drop, Cover, and Hold On - the most widely accepted general rule in case you are caught in a quake (source: Earthquake Country Alliance)
If you are in an area where potentially large or damaging earthquakes are a significant natural hazard, it is very important you know what to do in case a larger quake occurs.
This includes:

1) What to do before an earthquake

Prepare yourself, your home and your family, get familiar with official resources on earthquake hazard in your area, and work out the most efficient emergency plan for your specific case; this typically includes identifying the safest areas in your home, escape routes, remove or fix loose items or furniture that could drop on you during shaking, have emergency food and water for several days, batteries, medicine, first-aid kits, mobile phone and emergency numbers ready in case access to vital infrastructure is lost during a quake;

2) What to do during the quake

Avoid panic! In most cases the recommendation is Drop, Cover, and Hold On; this depends very much on your exact location during a quake. If you are on a beach, head to higher ground after the shaking stops as tsunamis can be generated by the quake.

3) What to do after the quake has hit

Asses damage around you, bring yourself to safety avoid damaged buildings or steep slopes, help others, provide first aid if needed, notify rescuers, avoid using mobile phone for not-essential use, expect aftershocks, listen to official advice.

Recommended further reading

One of the best resources on earthquake safety is the Earthquake Country Alliance (ECA) based in California. It provides extensive resources about earthquake preparedness, advice and help in case you are affected by a quake. Please visit their site to learn more or download the Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions PDF!
Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions (source: Earthquake Country Alliance, www.earthquakecountry.org)
Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions (source: Earthquake Country Alliance, www.earthquakecountry.org)
Try our free app!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Android | iOS version

Support us - Help us upgrade our services!

We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.
We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please make a donation (PayPal or Online credit card payment).

Planned features:
  • Improved multilanguage support
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Faster responsiveness
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Design upgrade
  • Detailed quake stats
  • Additional seismic data sources
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you!
Stop Russia's Agression - Support Ukraine
Significant parts of this website use brilliant open-source software developed by Ukrainians. Russia's unprovoked war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and the beautiful country of Ukraine is being destroyed. We cannot be silent even if the topic of this website has nothing to do with politics.
If you like to support Ukraine from abroad:
Ukrainians recommend the Come Back Alive charity. For other options, see StandWithUkraine.
Sources: VolcanoDiscovery / VolcanoAdventures and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most text and images on our websites are owned by us. Re-use is generally not permitted without authorization. Contact us for licensing rights.
Volcanoes & Earthquakes
VolcanoDiscovery Home
Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Photos | Volcano News | App
Adventure & Study Travel
Tours to Volcanoes and Volcanic Areas: walking tours, photo tours, study tours
Tours & Dates | FAQ | About us
Get our newsletter!
Company info
Contact | Legal info | Terms & conditions
Follow us
Follow us on facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Twitter Visit our Youtube channel
EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU
VolcanoDiscovery GmbH, Germany, Reg. nr.: HRB 103744, EU Tax Id: DE 310 395 322 owned and created by
Dr. Tom Pfeiffer, volcanologist, volcano photographer, tour organizer member of
IAVCEI
Volcanological Society
Ecotourism Greece
Insured by R+V
VolcanoDiscovery © 2004- All Rights Reserved | Privacy - cookie settings