| Going vertical: Fleeing tsunamis by moving up, not out |
| Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:39 |
 In the minutes after a strong earthquake struck offshore of the Indonesian city of Padang on Sept. 30, fears of a tsunami prompted hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate the coastal city. Or try to.The traffic jam resulting from the mass exodus kept most of them squarely in the danger zone, had a tsunami followed the magnitude 7.6 temblor. Stanford researchers who've studied the city have concluded that fleeing residents would have a better chance of surviving a tsunami if instead of all attempting an evacuation, some could run to the nearest tall building to ride out the wave. It's called "vertical evacuation" and could save thousands of lives, but only if the city's buildings are reinforced to withstand both earthquakes and tsunamis. |