English · Dialogue
Dialogue About Earthquake Preparedness
Model dialogue between two friends about what to do during and after an earthquake.
Two friends discuss a tremor, the drop-cover-hold rule and what a family can prepare.
A dialogue between Zahid and Munir
Zahid: Munir, did you feel the tremor last night?
Munir: The fan swung for a few seconds. My mother ran to the stairs.
Zahid: Was that the right thing to do?
Munir: Apparently not, if you live above the ground floor. Most injuries happen on stairs and in doorways during the shaking.
Zahid: Then what should we do?
Munir: Drop, cover and hold — get under a sturdy table, cover your head, and stay there until the shaking stops.
Zahid: And afterwards?
Munir: Then leave, by the stairs, never by the lift, and stand clear of the building.
Zahid: Is Dhaka actually at risk? People talk about it but nothing happens.
Munir: We are near an active fault zone, and the greater danger here is the buildings rather than the shaking itself.
Zahid: Because so many were built without following the code.
Munir: Exactly. A moderate earthquake in a well-built city does little; in a badly built one it does a great deal.
Zahid: What can a family actually prepare?
Munir: Fix the heavy furniture to the wall, keep a torch and water where you can reach them, and agree where to meet outside.
Zahid: We have never discussed a meeting place. I will raise it at dinner tonight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Drop, cover and hold: get under a sturdy table, protect your head, and stay there until the shaking stops. Running for the stairs during the shaking is what causes many injuries, so leave only afterwards — by the stairs, never the lift.
Because it sits near an active fault zone, and because much of its construction has not followed the building code. The dialogue is strongest when it makes that distinction: the danger is the buildings more than the earthquake.
Fixing heavy furniture to the wall, keeping a torch and drinking water within reach, and agreeing a meeting point outside the building. These are concrete and cost almost nothing, which makes them a good ending for the dialogue.
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