Switch on the news these days and there will almost certainly be some unfortunate corner of the world trembling its way onto the evening bulletin. Another earthquake. Another country briefly promoted from obscurity to catastrophe.
Maps appear, experts point at fault lines, and reporters stand bravely in front of piles of what, until yesterday, was someone’s home.
The real horror, of course, is not the Richter Scale or the geological jargon. It is that a family can wake to an entirely ordinary morning - breakfast to make, children to dress - and, within seconds, find the ceiling where the floor ought to be. The lives of parents, children and grandparents can be erased not by war or disease, but by the sudden decision of the earth to shrug.
And earthquakes, unlike most holiday inconveniences, don't give much notice. You can check the weather, avoid the rainy season and insure yourself against lost luggage. But there is no app that pings you to say: At approximately 3.17 this afternoon, the ground beneath your hotel will behave like a badly shaken rug.
Which is why, if your next holiday happens to be in a country sitting on one of the planet's more excitable geological seams, it is worth knowing what to do before the walls start dancing.
A little preparation will not stop the earth from shaking. But it might stop you from becoming part of tomorrow night's news.
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