duck and cover vs. triangle of life… will it really matter?

the ‘triangle of life’ earthquake safety theory has been touted as a better method of staying safe during an earthquake than the traditional ‘duck and cover’ method. the ‘triangle of life’ theory says that falling objects such as doors, walls, or large appliances will come to rest in angled positions, leaving triangles of space in which safety can be found.

the only problem is that both the theory and the man responsible for it have been discredited:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp

http://www.fema.gov/earthquake-safety-home

http://earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/#notrecommended

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?categoryID=6&faqID=141

the real issue is that a very small percentage of homeowners here in the bay area have followed through on earthquake readiness preparations: laying in supplies of food and water, flashlights, blankets, tools, emergency preparedness plans, outside-of-area contact networks to facilitate communications, etc.

eventually the big one will make us stop what we’re doing and pay attention.