SAMPLE ESSAY "A STRANGE EXPERIENCE"

According to Swiss researchers, approximately 1 million people died in the last twenty years. But, more than 780 thousands of them died in the earthquake. In Turkey, the situation is not much different and the number of deaths is over 57 thousands. Despite the fact that authorities' efforts and governments’ investments, none of those deaths couldn’t be prevented. I think that something must be done by the victims of the earthquake. So, we can describe this as a process that we should do before, during, and after an earthquake.

Most of what we must do belongs to pre-earthquake period. Firstly, we must learn first aid. It is very significant because we may have to practice it during the earthquake. Learning how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity is also important one. Then, we should place our household goods according to the instructions of the earthquake such as anchoring heavy furniture, cupboards, and appliances to the walls or floor, not leaving heavy objects on shelves because of danger of falling.
And, we should make up a plan of where to meet our family after an earthquake. We can also learn the earthquake plan at our school or workplace. Last but not least, we must sure that we have a fire extinguisher, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, and first aid kit at home.  A well-stocked first-aid kit, kept within easy reach, is a necessity in every home. Having supplies gathered ahead of time will help us handle an emergency at a moment's notice. We should store first-aid kits in places that are out of children's reach but easily accessible for adults. We should keep one first-aid kit in our home and one in each car. Also we must be sure to bring a first-aid kit on family vacations. It must include some major things in it such as soap, sharp scissors, sterile gauze pads of different sizes, adhesive tape, alcohol wipes or ethyl alcohol, a blanket, list of emergency phone numbers, a splint, antibiotic ointment, tweezers and neck protector.

But, things we should do during the earthquake have vital importance. First of all, we must stay calm. If we're indoors, we must stand against a wall near the center of the building, stand in a doorway, crawl under heavy furniture such as a desk, a table and stay away from windows and outside doors. If we're outside, we should stay in the open away from power lines or anything that might fall and stay away from buildings because stuff might fall off the building or the building could fall on us. If we're in a car, we should stop the car and stay inside the car until the earthquake stops. We should stay in bed if we are there when the earthquake strikes and hold on and protect our head with a pillow, unless we are under a heavy light fixture, window or anything else that could fall. In that case, moving to the nearest safe place is the best choice we can. Moreover, we mustn’t use matches, candles, or any flame and we shouldn’t use elevators because they'll probably get stuck anyway.

And finally, following instructions after the earthquake is necessary to make sure our security. We must check ourselves and others for injuries, provide first aid for anyone who needs it and check water, gas, and electric lines for preventing damage. If any are damaged, we should shut off the valves. And, if we smell gas, we must open all the windows and doors, leave immediately, and report it to the authorities using someone else's phone. Staying away from beaches, damaged areas and buildings; turning on the radio and not using the phone unless it's an emergency; and being careful around broken glass, chimneys and debris are also important things that can be done after the earthquake. If we're at school or work, we should follow the emergency plan or the instructions of the person in charge. And, we should act with taking account of aftershocks.

In brief, an earthquake may appear at anytime and anywhere. What we need to do is putting into practice this process up to the hilt before earthquake happens. After taking all these precautions, there may be still such a high number of casualties after the earthquakes. So, we can reconcile these things with spiritual forces, can’t we?