It is important to find areas in the home or outdoors where you will be less likely to get harmed. A safe place is somewhere where nothing could potentially hurt you. For example, during an earthquake, standing under a solid tree is more unsafe than standing in an open field. Why? The tree could fall and hurt you, while in a field, nothing can get to you. For this step in your emergency plan to work, identify at least 5 safe areas in the building, and at least 5 more outside. Remember to keep these areas away from each other. By doing this, you can be sure that there is always a safe area near you, even if you are in a section of the building rarely visited. Be sure to double check if the areas are in fact safe by actually moving to the spot and observing everything surrounding it. Try to search for any possible hazards - even the small ones. Take a note of all the hazards and judge if it is in fact a safe area. 

To help you with the job of finding these safe spots, here are a few pointers:

Indoors

Safe spots are often found:

• under sturdy furniture such as a heavy desk or table.
  
• against an inside wall.
  
• away from areas where glass could shatter such as:
  • windows
    
  • picture frames
    
  • mirrors
    
  • kitchen cabinets
    
  • lamps
    
• away from areas where heavy objects such as books or other heavy furniture could fall over.

Outdoors

Look for places out in the open, away from:

• buildings
• telephone lines
  
• electrical wires
  
• trees
  
• elevated roads such as: bridges, overpasses, and expressways