Thursday’s drill will not include building evacuations

By Cristal Mejia, Staff Writer

An earthquake drill will be conducted on campus between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. The drill, known as The Great California ShakeOut, is a statewide effort to spread awareness of earthquake preparedness and how one should respond to an emergency.

“We want everyone in general to be prepared in case of an actual earthquake and the best way to do that is by practicing the drop, cover and hold safety procedure because we know that it helps to reduce the number of injuries should an actual earthquake happen,” spokesperson for the county’s Health and Human Services agency Jose Alvarez said.

There will be no building evacuations during the drill. Instead, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate by exercising “drop, cover and hold” and talking about earthquake safety.

According to the ShakeOut website, in order for the drill to be effective, participants should react as if there were a major earthquake occurring by going through the three steps wherever one is at that moment.

“Last year we had evacuations but we found that they were disruptive,” director of media relations and new media, Greg Block, said. “This year we want it to be more educational.”

Participation in the drill is not mandatory; however, everyone is being encouraged to practice the drill to ensure they will know how to react in the case of a real emergency. “They (professors) are not required to stop class, but we hope that they will take the time to go through the drill and talk about earthquake safety,” Block said.

SDSU’s loudspeakers, called The Mass Notification System, and the text messaging and e-mail system SDSU Alert will be tested as a part of the drill.

“The drop, cover, and hold position is significant in terms of preparing for an earthquake because the majority of people get injured from falling objects, bookcases and mirrors, so it’s really important for people to participate. If they are near a desk or a table, find it and hold on to it,” Alvarez said.

More than 660,000 people in San Diego County have registered to participate.

“We hope that as many people participate as possible and they take this opportunity to educate themselves on what it is they need to do,” Alvarez said.