A port city built on steep hills, open to the Pacific Ocean.
View of Valparaíso
Late afternoon.
People are heading home from work, climbing one of the many sloping streets that lead to the southern residential districts.
Colorful houses line both sides, pressed tightly together.
You take your usual path: a narrow street, barely ten meters wide, with parked cars on one side.
One of the colourful streets of Valparaíso
1. You are walking…
A]
With your headphones on, music at full volume.
B]
Phone in your hand, eyes locked on the screen.
C]
Head up, aware of your surroundings.
Then a deep rumble seems to roll across the city.
The ground vibrates beneath your feet.
Windows rattle, some shatter, walls crack.
Pedestrians stop, some freeze, others start running.
2. You decide to ...
A]
Press yourself against a wall for protection
B]
Stay still in the middle of the street.
C]
Run toward the nearest intersection to find more open space.
After long seconds, the shaking stops.
Dust floats in the air. Bricks and roof tiles lie scattered on the ground.
Silence returns, broken only by car alarms.
It seems to be over.
3. What do you do?
A]
Enter a house still standing to shelter inside.
B]
Head immediately toward higher ground
C]
Stay in the street, moving away from unstable buildings
Quickly, the earthquake’s epicenter is confirmed by the authorities 48 km southeast of the city, inland
This location dismisses the tsunami threat.
But the magnitude 7.4 shock was felt across the entire region.
Little by little, residents come down from the hills, while rescue teams spread through the city.
🔍 Your Choices
Let’s review each decision.
1. You are walking…
A]
With your headphones on, music at full volume.
+2
B]
Phone in your hand, eyes locked on the screen.
+1
C]
Head up, aware of your surroundings.
+3
Of course being aware of your surroundings is always the best, even when no earthquake happens.
Headphones aren’t necessarily bad, as long as the volume stays low enough to keep awareness (and our ears will thank us for it too).
2. You decide to ...
A]
Press yourself against a wall for protection
+1
B]
Stay still in the middle of the street.
+2
C]
Run toward the nearest intersection to find more open space.
+3
This is not the textbook case where you can simply Drop, Cover and Hold On.
In a narrow street, surrounded by buildings, that advice is almost impossible to follow.
Pressing yourself against a wall might feel instinctively safer, but facades tend to collapse outward, making it one of the most dangerous choices.
Staying in the middle of the street is slightly better if you have absolutely no other option.
The best way to reduce danger is to reach an intersection or a more open space, away from structures.
3. What do you do?
A]
Enter a house still standing to shelter inside.
+1
B]
Head immediately toward higher ground
+3
C]
Stay in the street, moving away from unstable buildings
+2
In a coastal area, there should never be any hesitation.
At the slightest shaking, you must immediately prepare for the worst-case scenario: a tsunami.
Even a quake that feels moderate can generate a destructive tsunami, because it is not the magnitude that creates it, but the uplift of the ocean floor caused by the rupture.
⚖️ The Verdict
Add up your points and see where you stand.
3–4 points → You are probably dead. 👉 Your decisions exposed you to the worst risks. In a real earthquake, your chances of survival would be minimal.
5–6 points → You are lucky this time. 👉 Your choices weren’t the best, but with some luck you might have made it. Don’t count on luck next time.
7–9 points → You put the odds on your side. 👉 You applied the right reflexes. Nothing is guaranteed with Nature, but you maximized your chances of getting through alive.
📜 Next Week’s Historic Date
8 years ago…
On September 16, 2017, Hurricane Maria unleashed its first gusts.
Did you know? It is the deadliest and costliest hurricane to strike the island of Puerto Rico
