If an earthquake happens, will people underground be in more danger than people above ground or not? I can think of several pros and cons for each:
Stay underground Pros:
Minimum risk of communicable illness (people who are ill are staying home)
Babies already born kept safe from injury (all babies are put in a sling to hold them in the cradle position)
Most familiar territory, so less stress
Stay underground Cons:
Aspiration pneumonia (not an illness but nevertheless a concern, dust being the main cause)
Risk of hypoxia in tunnels
Risk of injury anywhere, but especially in tunnels (fractures, myalgia (muscle strain), organ failure due to loss of oxygen)
Above ground Pros:
Quick evacuation
Knowing the duration of the earthquake
No aspiration pneumonia
Above ground Cons:
Higher risk of injury than underground (fractures, impaled, burns)
Babies aren't safe (could jump out of sling and get injured due to the shaking)
Higher risk of illness (bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, doesn't matter)
Universal Cons:
Nausea (in already nauseous people, this could be dangerous)
Preterm labor and miscarriage (stress increased during pregnancy)
Not able to breastfeed (same thing, stress can dry up milk supply)
So are people underground in more danger or not? It seems from my pros and cons that despite being able to quickly evacuate above ground that underground is safer.
I would think the shaking would be worse underground since underground you are closer to the source of the earthquake. This would by itself make underground more dangerous.