East coast earthquake scare

By now news of the earthquake we had felt here on the East coast has been all over the tv. Fortunately the quake had not cause any sever damage and injuries. There were some damages to older buildings here in New York city, but last I checked no loss of life was reported. I am writing in retrospect of how the situation could have had a better reaction, given that it may happen again and the situation may escalate and cause real damage.
The tremor came at about 2pm, most of us were either having lunch or just finished. Most of us were relaxed, as is common right after eating and sitting to get back to work. I felt my leg shake against the floor and was not sure. I checked for similar reactions with other people in the room. I saw the fear and concern but I did not jump up. Where I come from, earthquakes are not uncommon. I grew up having similar tremors and nothing really had happened. I sat back down on my desk and looked to see where the quake was coming from-thru the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) site. Meanwhile people stayed in the room, concerned but with no real plan on what to do. Our boss was not even aware and came out asking what the commotion was about. Looking back this was a rather bad reaction on my part. If anything did happen, I would be just one more victim desptie all my preparations. One should never play down a sudden event due to past experiences-as things do not always turn out the same. Perhaps previous experiences did not cause any real harm-but this one, nobody would know until after the event has passed. I should not let other people decide or control what steps I take to ensure my survival. I should be more cautious, not over-confident.

I had considered an escape plan from the office building before. Key components include:

• Closest fire exit - the closest is not always the best. Where I work one fire exit will lead you to the rear of the building-in an alley surrounded by several other buildings. Scary place to be in an earthquake. I had surveyed this prior when clean up crews were using the exit-thus without triggering alarms or out of the ordinary actions I have scouted it and know it is less than ideal.
• Safest fire exit-is actually pretty easy to get to. This is my main escape plan out of the building
• Time to descend fire exit-several descents with various speeds average to about 2 minutes. A long time to be running down a stair in an earthquake. Plus, an important factor-this is me running at my pace. If everyone else is in the stair running down with me then it would take much much longer.
• Possible refuge areas-in my case since it may take too long to get down and then pass through an exit alley or interior lobby-I had to find an alternate place to seek refuge in the immediacy of an earthquake. We are actually on the top floor so it may be a good idea to go up to the roof instead. I have to think about this a little more, but it would mean I would be on top of the rubble if the building collapses. I would have a higher chance of rescue. One question is, in a freefall-what would be my chances of surviving.  I have read other experts recommend the top floor as opposed to a dense street which will mean getting buried due to the closeness of the buildings. I have to do more research on the idea and weight the benefits.
• It is important to know a few things about your building. It would all roll into your general duties of scouting your area, but some things to look for would be the construction method of the building. Say what kind of building is it, steel frame or concrete structure? How old is the building? This would help inform you of quality of construction, how likely are glass windows to shatter and shower down below for example. It also informs you of which walls are safe to seek shelter to using the triangle shelter.

Also I found out from USGS that the earthquake had come from Virginia, at the time showing a magnitude more than 5. Still with a lot of time left I prepared for the aftershocks. I could not take my entire bag as it would make people jumpy, so I took the essentials out of it and clipped them onto my belt.

I realized it would be useful to have a smaller bag inside my every day carry bag that would hold the key survival items in it. Something to the size of a pouch bag or a small camera bag-nothing to attract attention. This way I could have the option of having basic gear on me without carrying the rest.
Also realized the need for a whistle. I have a couple, but I kept them as part of another bug out setup, not with my EDC. If buried in rubble, a whistle would be a most efficient way to signal for help. It would consume less effort and energy as opposed to shouting, and the signal would travel much much farther around the debris.

As expected phones were bogged down. I could not get through a 30 second conversation with my family and I would get cut off. I resorted to texting as planned. It was a bit delayed but it got through. I texted people where to meet if an aftershock occurs, and to be on alert.

I have been planning to find a better rally point/meeting place for my family in case something happens. I haven't done it yet so we had to resort to a previous location-the park around the corner from our house. Being in a city so dense, open areas are hard to find. I would have my family grab a small bug out kit at the door-designed just for them with minimum gear and light weight. These things need some work and the recent scare we had is just a reminder that times are changing sooner than we expect. Those of us who prepare and adapt faster will be better off than those who did not.