[gitmo]

SNOPES.COM has this to say about Mr Copp's advice:

• Disaster preparedness experts with the American Red Cross dispute that findings based on earthquake experiences in other countries (e.g., Turkey) are applicable to the U.S., where building codes are substantially different.

• The scientific validity of the conclusions expressed in the article has been questioned by others.

• Doug Copp's claim that he performed rescue work at the World Trade Center (for which he was paid $650,000 in compensation for injuries he supposedly sustained there) has been challenged in a series of articles published in the Albuquerque Journal which describe him as a self-serving opportunist rather than a true rescue expert:
  Self-proclaimed rescue guru Doug Copp's mission to ground zero was considered so important that he had clearance to be flown to New York even though all civilian air traffic in the United States had been grounded. Once there, he says he assumed a pivotal role and sustained devastating injuries while wading through the "toxic soup" in search of survivors and victims, and was awarded nearly $650,000 for his injuries. But there is little evidence Copp performed real rescue work, and it is doubtful that he deserves compensation.
  
  Doug Copp was awarded $649,000, tax free, from the fund set up to compensate victims of 9/11. He says it's not enough. But it's doubtful he deserves anything. A Journal investigation found little evidence that Copp did real rescue work in New York. His forays into the rubble were to shoot video, some of which he tried to sell. His claim of seeking medical care within the time frame appears false. All typical of Copp's years as a self-proclaimed rescue guru.
• Other articles have relayed complaints from numerous people who have dealt with Mr. Copp.

• Mr. Copp is under investigation by a U.S. Department of Justice fraud unit.

We'd recommend sticking with safety information prepared by established earthquake safety experts, such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[LibertyRocks]

I just wrote thanking granite for his post... Now, I have read the two articles you posted gitmo. Very interesting to say the least. For now, if I’m ever in an earthquake zone I think I will stick to the “original” plan - finding a good solid table or desk to duck under...

As I’m thinking about this further - and in light of the information from the Red Cross and snopes, I personally think that in cases where a building is not going to collapse (or a collapse is not imminent) then getting under a solid table is probably the most advisable thing to do. It would seem to me that if a building of considerable weight is collapsing around you, then getting out of it alive - being in a small pocket - would really all be up to God at that point... Lying in the fetal position without any covering would leave one vulnerable to falling debris and loose furniture and such.