Triangle of Life

[citation needed] According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Triangle of Life is a misguided idea about the best location a person should try to occupy during an earthquake.

[13][failed verification] A person is more likely to be injured trying to move during an earthquake rather than immediately seeking a safe space by furniture, or near an interior wall, not doorways, as they are often not structural.

[8] An Iranian peer-reviewed article analyzed and compared both methods in detail, considering their application, the extent of people who are under the coverage, simplicity in transferring concepts, and the probability of reducing casualties and damage in developing countries such as Iran.

It found that the "Triangle of life" theoretically could be a better strategy during larger earthquakes in buildings with a skeleton (wood or concrete) during a building pancake-type collapse, but acknowledged the possible problems of large objects shifting and crushing the person from horizontal movement, inability to predict which side of an object would create a survivable space, and that the triangle of life method is also difficult to teach and communicate.

When Copp and his crew re-entered the building after the blast, they calculated that there would have been no survivors among the mannequins in "Duck and Cover" positions, but 100% survival for those hiding in the triangles beside solid objects.

[12] Additionally, the exercise did not simulate the lateral movement of earthquakes, instead causing a pancake collapse, which is more common in areas of extremely poor construction and rare in developed countries.