All across the world, millions of people will be practicing their earthquake preparedness on Oct. 20. The event 鈥� called the 鈥� will commence at 10:20 a.m. for those participating at the 91探花 and across the state. It is an opportunity for people to practice what they should do in the event of an earthquake: Drop, cover and hold on.
, through its Seismic Resilience Program, is dubbing the event here as the 鈥�Great 91探花ShakeOut.鈥�
Ways to participate:
The simplest way to participate is to practice 鈥渄rop, cover and hold on鈥� at 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 20. This can be done by using the building鈥檚 public address (PA) system to alert occupants of the preceding drill (contact your building coordinator for details). If you don鈥檛 have access to your PA system, or some departments in your building are not participating, choose a team member to use whistles or a blow horn to alert department members that 鈥淭his is an earthquake drill! Drop, cover and hold on!鈥�
In addition to practicing the above activity, some departments may also add a building evacuation drill to their earthquake drill. But be mindful that your earthquake evacuation location is not always the same location as your fire evacuation location. Furthermore, evacuation after an earthquake is not always necessary.
Some departments will take this time to also review any and all emergency plans as a team. 91探花Emergency Management can help tailor almost any training to a department鈥檚 specific needs.
For more information, contact 91探花Emergency Management at (206) 897-8000 or disaster@uw.edu.