At 10:15 a.m. on October 15, 2015, millions of Californians will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in The Great California ShakeOut, the state’s largest earthquake drill ever! Continuing Education will be joining in this exercise to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake.
Why is a “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” drill important? To respond quickly you must practice often. You may only have seconds to protect yourself in an earthquake before strong shaking knocks you down, or something falls on you.
In addition, the CE Safety Committee would like us to use this drill as an opportunity to raise awareness of the location of safety equipment on campus. Do we know the location of the AED machine (or machines) on our campus? Do we know where the fire alarm pull stations are located? Do we know the location of fire extinguishers on campus? And do our students (who may be the first responders in case of an emergency) know where these items are located? We hope you will take a few minutes (after you “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”) to locate these items on campus and we hope that faculty members will discuss the locations with students in class.
If you are a faculty member, we know that 10:15 a.m. may not be the best time to practice – if 10:15 a.m. does not work with your lesson plan or class schedule, please try to practice and discuss earthquake safety at some time during your class on the 15th (even if your class meets in the afternoon or at night!).
For more information, visit www.shakeout.org.