Learn English – ‘Flying glass’ and ‘doorway’ during an earthquake; what do they mean

differencemeaningmeaning-in-context

My book has a paragraph giving advice on what we should do during an earthquake:

If you live in an earthquake zone, you should take some time to look around your house … Check the mirrors in your bathroom and bedroom. Make sure they can't move. Don't put your bed next to a window.

Planning where you are going to be during an earthquake is very important… Then you should sit under a strong table or doorway, or stand in the corner of a room.

After reading the passage, my book requires me to complete the table. One row of the table has this:

Flying glass:

  • Check the mirrors
  • Don't put your bed near a window

I don't understand the two bold words above:

  1. What are the differences between door and doorway? Why should we sit under a doorway during an earthquake?
  2. What does flying glass really mean? Does it mean glass can fly?

Best Answer

The book has "flying glass" in bold because it is a heading, and the following checklist pertains to it. In an earthquake, windows and mirrors can shatter, and the force could cause the broken glass to fall at an angle, not just downwards; this is why it is referred to as flying glass.

Anything that is projected into the air could have the verb "to fly" associated with it. For example,

"As I walked through the park, I saw children having a snow fight. Soon afterward, there were snowballs flying all around me as I rushed to get past."

A door is the wood panel with a knob or handle that you open to enter and exit a room. A doorway is the framed opening that the door is mounted to.

As to why a doorway is a safe place during an earthquake (or even if it is), I found conflicting results when I searched for an answer. This article suggests that crawling under a table is more safe:

DO NOT stand in a doorway. You are safer under a table. In modern houses, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the house. The doorway does not protect you from the most likely source of injury−falling or flying objects. Most earthquake-related injuries and deaths are caused by falling or flying objects (e.g., TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases), or by being knocked to the ground.

As discussed in the comments below, the safest place for an earthquake depends on several factors, so please do the necessary research for your area.

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