Why do people rush home when there’s an earthquake?
I’m saying this as it applies in Jakarta, where we are far from the source point so effects are very minimal.
I swear, traffic is MAD yesterday evening as I was leaving office. I wasn’t early - during fasting month my office hours are reduced to 8.30 to 4 - and I found the streets clogged everywhere! It’s never like this, even in those infamous daily Ramadan traffic standstills, cars can still inch… slowly. but still.
It practically took my bus a whole 20 minutes trying to exit the toll road. And we were merely few metres away from the exit! (the driver finally gave up in the end and chose the next gate).
I mean, I understand that you want to be close to your loved ones as soon as possible. But wouldn’t suddenly rushing to your car only expose yourself more the to the risks? Not to mention putting yourself in heavy traffic jam as other like-minded people do the same. No chance of getting home early then..
If we feel the Earth move, isn’t it more sensible to stay calm and protect ourselves from objects that easily fall? We can also call our friends and family to make sure they’re safe, before resuming whatever we were doing before and then going home like usual when (hopefully) traffic is better can we can actually move.
Of course, this would only apply in places far from the epicenter. It would be a different story somewhere else.
