Shake Post
6th Grade Earthquake Newspaper Issue #3
Earthquake Gone Wrong!
What Happens when you are prepared and not prepared for a catastrophic earthquake.
Suddenly out of nowhere there was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Leo looked at the fridge for the escape routes. “Ok.” Leo said. “Go to the hallway down the stairs take a right down to the stairs to the basement into the living room. Meeting place in the living room away from the windows. Leo ran to the stairs down into the living room and found his mom with the first aid kit and his sister. Also his mom had extra food and water. Then suddenly, the lights went out but thanks to the generator the lights turned back on. Windows shattered, things fell, you could hear loud crashes upstairs. They were huddled together and no one was hurt. After the earthquake stopped they first called Leo’s dad to see if he was safe and then they went outside and found their neighbors all scattered around.
Now we rewind to see how the neighbors handled the earthquake. Diana was screaming her head off and couldn’t hear her family at all. No one knew where to go. Diana’s mom was upstairs, her little brother eating a sandwich in the kitchen, and her dad in the basement. A window shattered near Diana and she got scrapped on the knee. By her little brother the bookshelf fell and 2 books fell on him. Diana ran to him and called for her mom. She came down with a big bruise on her forehead. They didn’t know what to do and where their dad was. The lights went out and they were scared and had to find the door in the dark. The earthquake stopped and they went outside and found their dad limping over to them. Their neighbors came out without a scrape. They brought over the first aid-kit and went to help them. Now Diana’s family will probably make a plan to be prepared for another earthquake.
Here is how some teachers help out at school in case of an earthquake. According to Ms.V,” We have meetings every 3 months to check the supplies, make sure band-aids don’t go bad, and to check the batteries in the AEDs. We have all kinds of supplies for serious injuries and for scrapes. During an earthquake first I have to find out who are the people in need of first-aid the most. We have walkie talkies to communicate with each other to say if the building is empty.” I think it is pretty cool that they have walkie talkies.
Earthquakes occur many times a day and you might not feel them but, once in awhile a big one occurs and it can do major damage so it is good to be prepared. Always have extra water and food on hand, a first aid kit, flashlights with batteries, a portable radio or communication device, and a generator. Also have escape routes, a meeting place, a communication plan, and a out-of-town contact. Having these things will help you in being prepared for a catastrophic earthquake!
By: Rebecca and Alana
Drop,Cover,and Hold On!
You must at all times during the event of an earthquake Drop, Cover, and Hold On or you will likely be hit by objects and face death or injury. It is the safest way to protect yourself. All of the other methods are most likely to get you injured. Such as going under the doorway, this is very dangerous because today’s homes are not built with the same material then use to be built with. It is very likely that objects will hit you and you will be injured. This is why it is important to Drop Cover and Hold On.
Now, to drop, cover, and hold on is simple to do. Do not panic in a major earthquake. The main idea of Drop, Cover, and Hold On is to protect yourself from falling objects. Just do as the following and you will be very likely to be not as injured as you would if you didn’t do anything. First you must drop under a table, desk, etc. If there aren’t any tables or desks to go under just go next to an interior wall that don’t have any shelves or windows. Next you need to cover your neck and head, the most important part of your body. If you don’t you will face head or spinal injuries from falling items. Then since it’s an earthquake you need to hold on to the leg of the table. you are under, and I recommend it’s is solid, and away from windows as much as possible. If there is no table near by, become one with a wall and hold on to it, not a wall with windows or shelves. That is what you need to do.
There are many things that you should not do during an earthquake. When it occurs do not panic. If you do it is very likely to be injured. If someone is injured because they did not drop cover and hold or for another reason, Ms. White who is apart of the First Aid Team says “When someone is hurt more than another they go to treat them first, we do the best that we can to help them. The school nurse will help the most injured and the rest of us teachers go off to treat others who are in need of help.” Don’t move around crazily but you must get to protection right away. Also do not run outside it is very dangerous because it is very likely to be hit by debris. Make sure to stay away from shelves with items likely to fall on you and stay away from windows because they can shatter because of falling debris and if you are near a window the broken glass can cut you. If you are caught outside run into a clear area where no trees are this is also safe because no trees so nothing can fall on you. Do not go up to a tree and use it to support you, because it might fall on you. After an earthquake don’t think it’s all fine now. Be prepared for aftershocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen multiple times after the earthquake. Always be alert and, don’t panic.
According to Mr. Wolfe, who is part of the search and rescue says “Drop, Cover, and Hold On would be the best way to stay safe during an earthquake,” So we need to get the word to everyone we can, because people are severely injured or killed from major earthquakes. Please get the word out to others. This will let people know what to do in a small or major earthquake so that they stay safe. With you giving the word out death and injury will decrease. Always remember to Drop, Cover, and Hold On!
By: Isaac Phe and Adrian Lossada
The Dangerous California Families Experiences in Earthquakes
By: Elizabeth Lira and Mary-Kate
Seley
“My mom was horrified when the earthquake hit!”, says Elizabeth Lira talking about her interview with her Mom. Earthquakes affect so many people and families around the world. Some MJS families have interesting stories about their experiences in earthquakes. We will also talk about how all these stories connect.
We first interviewed Adrian Lossada, he had interviewed his mother for his family earthquake project. This is the story of Adrian’s mother, Ms. Kelley Lossada, and her tragic earthquake story. One evening Ms. Kelley Lossada was at the University of Santa Cruz at 5:04pm on October 7, 1989 when all of the sudden the ground started to shake. Ms. Kelley Lossada’s new teacher who came from Australia started to scream, “What the heck, did a freight train hit the school?” Everyone was panicking, the windows shattered creating one question, would they make it out alive? Students run for the tables and any coverings and Ms. Kelley Lossada heads for the doorway, time is running out. The school could collapse at any moment. And then it does. The fourth floor comes falling down, and then it was finished. The earthquake killed two students, one librarian with a magnitude of six point nine. All students are sent home. She hurries home however one side of her house has collapsed. She runs to her neighbor's house to call her family scared and lonely. She calls her family and they pick up. Later that day she stays at her boyfriend’s house and sleeps under a table in case of an aftershock. She has now learned how important it is to be prepared in an earthquake. She keeps extra food,water, batteries, flashlights, and has an earthquake plan for her family. Read Adrian's full interview here.
Next, we interviewed Elizabeth Lira, who had interviewed her mom Mrs. Lira, who was apart of the Northridge earthquake. One morning Mrs. Lira was at her home at 6:00am on January 17, 1994. Mrs. Lira started to feel the ground shake. She was frightened and scared but she knew what to do. She ran for the nearest table. She sat under the table covering her neck, she thought it was over but it wasn’t, the glasses shattered, and the walls slowly began to crack, and then it was finished. Mrs. Lira was left unscathed and very lucky to have been ok in a six point seven earthquake. She says in case of another earthquake to have extra food, a battery powered radio, and extra water. According to Mrs. Lira “It sounded like a freight train going through the walls.” Read Elizabeth's full article here.
Lastly, we interviewed Rebecca Leiva, who had interviewed her dad, Mr. Leiva, who was apart of the Whittier narrows earthquake. Mr. Leiva was at his office with his work buds at two forty two in the afternoon, in 1987. The ground began to shake, and Mr. Levia knew what to do. He stayed away from bookcases and windows, and it was smart that he did. The bookcases fell over and not soon after the windows shattered. The magnitude was five point nine. After the earthquake he learned to keep tennis shoes at his office just in case he has to get out of the building fast. According to Mr. Leiva, “In order to be prepared in an earthquake, you have to have a pair of tennis shoes.” Read Rebecca's full article here.
Overall, we noticed that the people we interviewed learned after the earthquake to be more prepared. For instance, Mrs. Lossada makes sure to have extra food and water, and a flashlight. Mrs. Lira says to have extra food, water, batteries, and a battery powered radio. And Mr. Leiva says to have a extra pair of tennis shoes at work. We as a community need to teach others about earthquakes so we can all be more prepared. We also noticed that all the people we interviewed were in areas that were damaged. If they weren’t prepared or knew what to do, they could have gotten hurt. In order for everyone to be safe we need to talk to our families about an escape route, so everyone will be in a good area.
Tragic Earthquake Happens!!!
Rescuers came to help
On the sixth day after Nepal’s tragic earthquake of a magnitude 7.8, search and rescue members were still looking for survivors. After Lakshman Basnet of Nepal was calling out for fortunate survivors he heard a voice that sounded like it was coming from the fifteen year old, Pemba Tamang. Pemba had been under rubble for about six days. He was very fortunate because his motorcycle shielded him from any immediate impact that would have killed him. According to Nepali officials there was a total of 5,582 deaths, and wounding more than 11,000 people.
After eleven days of the magnitude 7.0 tragic earthquake, Haiti’s government called off search-and-rescue. Although, they found a seventeen year old girl named Darlene Etienne on the fifteenth day. It seems that during the earthquake she was taking a shower, because she was in the bathroom she had little access to water. She was stuck in a small space that was about as big as her body. After fifteen days she had nearly lost sixty cups of water. She barely survived after the fact that she was dehydrated and injured. Amazingly, she survived.
Here are some tips about how to find someone in case of emergency:
Sound equipment can help detect the faintest of noises.
Members of the rescue team bang three times and hope to hear a sound or response.
Carbon dioxide detectors can help to find survivors that are unconscious.
Rescue dogs would help by smelling the scent of someone
According to MJS rescue team leader Couch Tuttle,”Help save another person’s life, Even if you aren’t on the rescue team, we all should help one another. ‘’ We also asked him some interview questions:
“Why are you willing to sacrifice your life?’’
‘’The reason why I am willing to sacrifice my life is because I love all the students.’’
2. ‘’What equipment do you have?’’
‘’We have axes, shovels, first aid, splints, flashlights, crutches, stretchers, walkie talkies, food, and water.’’
3. ‘’How will you use teamwork in a natural disaster?’’
‘’ We will divide into many different teams. Also, we will work together to find people. We will call out names very loudly, and divide among the school.’’
By: Lola Falese and Mercedes