Cali to drop, cover and hold on
Great California Shakeout Drill
Thursday at 10:21 a.m.
Anywhere
BY THE NUMBERS
The following information is based on the theoretical estimates of the aftermath of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, as simulated in the Great California Shakeout Drill.
300,000
Buildings that will be significantly damaged
$213 billion
Amount of money in damages caused by the simulated quake
270,000
Number of displaced people
1,800
Number of deaths
SOURCE: Great California Shakeout website
By Jenny Hong
Oct. 20, 2010 1:56 a.m.
With 7.2 million Californians registered to “drop, cover, and hold on” under a desk or table at exactly 10:21 a.m. Thursday, the third annual Great California Shakeout drill will be by far the largest earthquake drill in the state’s history.
The shakeout is a state-wide drill implemented by organizations of the Earthquake Country Alliance to educate people about large-scale earthquakes as well as the precautions necessary to stay safe during and after a quake.
At the time of the drill, the participants will practice “drop, cover and hold on,” the method suggested to stay safe during a quake. The shakeout scenario will simulate a major hypothetical 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Although there will be no simulated effects of the earthquake such as closed roads or power outages, the Great California Shakeout website encourages everyone to anticipate an actual disaster and to make appropriate arrangements.
According to Michael Stajura, a staff member of the Community Emergency Response Team and a graduate student in the School of Public Health who helped to coordinate the shakeout, the day is important for students to evaluate their level of preparedness.
“(The students) have this perception that the school is planning sufficient relief efforts for all the students attending UCLA, but that might not be true,” he said.
George Burns, UCLA Emergency Preparedness Manager said he believes the university is very well prepared for emergency situations.
“Those (emergency) plans are very robust,” he said. “We train and exercise every year and (the) last earthquake exercise was in January.”
According to Burns, the university will participate in the drill by sending Bruin alert e-mails and text messages to students between 10 and 10:30 a.m. to confirm adequate communication between the school and students. At the time of the drill, the school will broadcast the shakeout through the University radio and cable channels.
Brandon Wilkinson, a second-year biology student and staff member of the American Red Cross Team at UCLA, said he will participate in the shakeout.
“I think the shakeout is important for everyone but especially for out-of-state students who may have never had to deal with earthquakes before,” he said.
In the three years since the shakeout has been implemented, the number of participants has grown significantly from its original 5.47 million in 2008. According to Stajura, the first shakeout took place in Southern California, but has since become an international event collaborating with countries such as British Columbia, Guam and New Zealand.
Linda Bourque, a professor in the department of community health science, agreed with Wilkinson that the shakeout drill is a good exercise for any Californian to prepare for an actual disaster.
“I can’t say if the amount of preparedness is higher or lower than before, but my sense is that it’s a tabletop exercise that will sort of grab people’s attention,” Bourque said. “Whether it will lead to change in people’s behaviors, I can’t tell you, but we’ll see.”
