Why should we not use an elevator during an earthquake?

Many elevators have earthquake sensors and shut themselves down. For the ones that do not, the most dangerous and most damaging thing that happens, is that the shaking dislodges the counterweight from the guiderails. read more

The biggest risk in using an elevator during an earthquake is that the electricity will be cut and you will be stuck. If the earthquake is very strong, then it could cause the elevator system to fail completely and the car fall to the bottom of the shaft causing you severe damage, but this is much less likely. read more

There could be a couple of issues in using an elevator during a fire. If you don’t know where the fire is (or even if you do) and the elevator stops on the fire floor and the doors open, you are now in a very small room filled with smoke. In a lot of scenarios, the fire department may commandeer the elevator to get to very high floors. read more