🏚️ Earthquake: what to do, step by step

Reviewed on November 15, 2026

It can't be predicted. Most injuries are caused by falling objects and glass, not by the building collapsing.

Step by step

When you feel the shaking	Drop, take cover under a sturdy table and hold on. If there's no table, crouch next to an interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms.
While it shakes	Stay where you are, away from windows, mirrors and shelves. Don't run outside or use stairs or elevators: that's when glass and debris fall.
When it stops	Put on shoes. If you smell gas, turn off the main valve, open windows and don't touch switches or light flames. Leave by the stairs, never by elevator.
First hours	Expect aftershocks. Stay away from building fronts, ledges and power lines. Get information from the radio and only use the phone for emergencies; to reach your family, send texts.
First days	Don't go back into a building with cracks or damage until it's been inspected. Keep your go bag and stored water at hand: the supply may take a while to come back.

Secure shelves, tall cabinets and the water heater to the wall; put heavy items on the lower shelves and move beds away from windows and pictures.
Find the gas and water shutoffs and the breaker box, and learn how to turn them off.
Decide where you'd take cover in each room (under a sturdy table or next to an interior wall).
Leave a pair of shoes and a flashlight by the bed: after a night-time earthquake, the floor will be covered in glass.

Indoors: drop, cover and hold on until it stops. A doorway doesn't protect you any better than a table.
Outdoors: move away from buildings, streetlights and power lines and stay in an open space.
In a car: stop somewhere clear, away from bridges and tunnels, and stay inside with your seatbelt on.
In bed: stay there and protect your head with the pillow.
On the coast: if the shaking is strong or long, or the sea pulls back, head for high ground at once without waiting for warnings.

Check for injuries and help anyone who needs it. Without training, don't move seriously injured people unless they're in immediate danger.
If you're trapped, don't light flames, cover your mouth with clothing and tap on a pipe or use your whistle so people can hear you: shouting wears you out.
Take photos of the damage for the insurance before cleaning up.

Figures and sources

During an earthquake: Drop, cover and hold on until it stops. Running out during the shaking exposes you to glass and debris; a doorway doesn't protect you any better than a table (Great ShakeOut (FEMA and US emergency services) and Civil Protection (Spain))