If an earthquake strikes while you’re in a tall building, your safest move is to drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on until the shaking stops. Do not run for the stairs or elevators. Modern high-rises are engineered to flex and absorb seismic energy, and you are almost always safer staying inside than trying to evacuate while the building is still moving.
Why Tall Buildings Are Designed to Move
Feeling a skyscraper sway during an earthquake can be terrifying, but that movement is intentional. Engineers design tall buildings to absorb seismic forces by flexing rather than resisting them. Many modern high-rises sit on base isolation systems, layers of rubber and steel that allow the foundation to shift up to six inches horizontally while the structure above moves more slowly. This dramatically reduces the forces transmitted through the building.
The sway you feel on upper floors will be more pronounced than what people experience at ground level. Objects may slide across desks, ceiling tiles can dislodge, and unsecured shelves or filing cabinets can topple. The building itself, though, is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Understanding this can help you stay calm and focus on protecting yourself from the real dangers: falling objects and flying debris inside the room.
Drop, Cover, and Hold On
The moment you feel shaking, drop to your hands and knees. This position keeps you from being knocked down and lets you crawl to cover. Get under a sturdy desk, table, or workstation and hold on to one of its legs with one hand. If the furniture moves, move with it. Protect your head and neck with your free arm.
If there’s no table nearby, move to an interior wall, away from windows, and crouch down with your arms covering your head and neck. Interior walls are less likely to have glass or exterior cladding that can shatter inward. Stay away from heavy shelving, filing cabinets, and anything mounted on the wall that could fall.
On upper floors, shaking tends to last longer and feel more intense because the building amplifies the ground motion. You may need to hold your position for 30 seconds to well over a minute. Resist the urge to move until the shaking fully stops.
Skip the Doorway
The advice to stand in a doorway comes from old photos of collapsed adobe homes where the door frame was the only thing left standing. In a modern steel or concrete building, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the structure. You’re also exposed to a swinging door that can slam into you during shaking. A desk or table provides far better protection from falling ceiling panels, light fixtures, and debris.
Stay Off Elevators and Stairs During Shaking
Elevators are one of the most dangerous places to be during an earthquake. Many modern buildings have seismic sensors that automatically stop elevators and park them at the nearest floor when initial tremors are detected. But this system takes time, and if you’re between floors when the shaking intensifies, you could be trapped in a dark, stuck car for hours. Elevator cables, counterweights, and shaft walls can all be damaged by strong shaking.
Stairwells present their own risks. They’re narrow, enclosed spaces where people can fall, pile up, or be struck by crumbling plaster and debris. Running down flights of stairs while a building is actively swaying is a recipe for broken bones or worse. The U.S. Geological Survey is blunt on this point: do not rush downstairs or outside while the building is shaking.
The “Triangle of Life” Doesn’t Apply Here
You may have seen a widely shared email or social media post recommending that you curl up next to a large object, like a couch or car, rather than getting under a table. This is called the “Triangle of Life,” and the U.S. Geological Survey calls it a misguided idea. It was based on observations from a Turkish earthquake involving building types very different from modern American construction. In a high-rise with a steel or reinforced concrete frame, the building is extremely unlikely to pancake-collapse in the way the theory assumes. Falling and flying objects inside the room are your primary threat, and getting under a solid table addresses that directly.
What to Do After the Shaking Stops
Your first instinct may be to head for the exit. Fight it. Evacuation after an earthquake should never be automatic. California’s Office of Emergency Services recommends waiting for building management or a designated safety coordinator to assess conditions before anyone moves into corridors or stairwells. There may be structural damage to exit routes that isn’t visible from your office or apartment.
While you wait, assess your immediate surroundings. Look for cracked ceilings, dangling light fixtures, exposed wires, broken glass on the floor, or the smell of gas. If your room has become clearly dangerous (a partially collapsed ceiling, sparking electrical lines, chemical spills), you may need to move, but scout the hallway or adjacent rooms before leading anyone out. Moving from one interior room to another is often safer than heading for the stairs.
When you do get the all-clear to evacuate, use the stairs, never the elevator. Even if the elevator appears to be working, aftershocks can strike at any time and strand you mid-floor. Walk carefully and watch for debris on the steps, wet or slippery surfaces, and damaged handrails. Expect the stairwell to be crowded and move at the pace of the group.
Preparing Your Space Before an Earthquake
If you live or work on an upper floor in a seismically active area, a few simple steps can reduce your risk dramatically. Secure the tops of tall bookcases, filing cabinets, and shelving units to the wall with brackets or straps. These are the objects most likely to topple during shaking, and on a high floor where the sway is amplified, even moderately heavy furniture can slide or tip.
Keep heavy items on lower shelves. Move your desk or bed away from large windows if possible. Store a pair of sturdy shoes near your bed or desk so you can walk through broken glass safely. A small flashlight is also worth keeping nearby, since power outages are common after a significant quake and stairwells in tall buildings can be pitch black.
Know where your building’s designated assembly point is outside, and know which stairwell is closest to you. Having that mental map before an earthquake means you won’t waste time or make risky decisions in the disorienting minutes after the shaking ends.