[jconnop]

The advice we get in New Zealand is to get underneath something strong like a table. Sitting where I am now I could probably make it under a table in under 5 seconds.

The bigger effect maybe is that prepares you mentally for the impact, so you're already planning your next steps and aren't in quite as much surpise/panic as if you had no warning.

When things are collapsing, seconds can be the difference between life and death. Even if a system like this only saves a few extra percent of lives lost in a major earthquake, it sounds worth it to me.

[yosito]

> The advice we get in New Zealand is to get underneath something strong like a table

Depending on how earthquake-proof a building is, this could be bad advice. If you're in an earthquake-proof building, a table will protect you from falling objects. If the building you're in collapses, you'll want to be next to something that's not very compressible, like a bed or a couch. The collapse will leave open triangles next to objects like this, which are the best place to survive a collapse.

[Mandatum]

New Zealand doesn't really have brick or concrete buildings (except high-rises). Lots of very old weatherboard. And you're right, the advice these days isn't "get under" something, it's "get next to something big or under the doorway".