Yesterday iran-iraq region witnessed an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude, the tremors of which could be felt in many parts of UAE including abu dhabi and dubai. i was on the 11 floor of a building. I had this question in my mind all night. what are the ways one can safely evaluate from a high rise building of say 35 floors?
Maybe UAE was considered an earthquake-free area before, but if there is oil extraction from under the ground, the rocks become unstable and are prone to re-adjstments and movements in the crust called earthquakes.
In earthquake-prone areas the buildings have to be constructed to with stand earthquakes, not so in earthquake-free areas (but it looks like they need to be from now on).
In the final analysis, no place on Earth is safe from earthquakes.
Collapses of modern multi-storey buildings are rare.
If I was on the 35th floor I would be very scared, because there will be some shaking.
Areas of frequent earthquakes are areas with known geological faults or near plate boundaries. You are not anywhere near any of these.
If you are asking how can one safely evacuate from a 35 story building, this should be clear that elevators are out of the question. Best thing to do is to wait for everything to stop moving (preferably hide under a solid element (table) in order not to have something fall on your head) and then, use the stairs in an orderly fashion. If the stairs are not safe, wait for the specialized task force. More info on how to react here: https://www.wikihow.com/React-During-an-Earthquake
May I add, you do not have to be excessively worried, the direct area of UAE is usually not threatened by very strong tectonic earthquakes, the country may just moderately suffer from the consequences of some very strong iranian earthquakes, however, there are some tectonic reasons for a relative possible exception concerninig the southeastern corner or UAE. I said you do not have to worry a lot because if the earthquake is strong enough to provoque intensities exceeding the degree VII, you can not keep your balance anyway, intensity Degrees VII, VIII and Even IX are not normally expected to cause the collapse of a well designed modern building like those in UAE so in case of a felt earthquake in UAE, keep calme and follow the instructions specified in the excellent preceding Cistian's answer. I wish you, mankind, and all the biosphere, safety in all circumstances.
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