Preparedness advice tends to be about the next three days. The first ten minutes are about something else entirely: what is physically dangerous in the room you are in.
In order.
- Fire and smoke. Smoke kills more often than flame, and it rises. If you must move through it, stay low.
- Structural damage. Cracks that were not there, doors that no longer close, ceilings that sag. A damaged building can come down long after whatever damaged it.
- Glass. Blast breaks windows inwards across a room. Move away from windows before you do anything else; this single habit accounts for a large share of avoidable injuries.
- Gas and electricity. If you smell gas, do not use a switch, a lighter or a doorbell. Ventilate if you safely can, and leave.
- Water. Moving water is stronger than it looks and hides what is under it.
What not to do. Do not go back for possessions. Do not use a lift. Do not go to look at what happened — the second event, the collapse, the secondary device, the falling masonry, arrives at the people who came to see.