Great California Shakeout Earthquake Drill a Success
Cerritos College joined millions of participants in the Great California Shakeout
on October 20. At 10:20 a.m. students, faculty and staff practiced Drop, Cover, and
Hold On procedures, and evacuated to designated areas. The drill was designed to simulate
the proper steps to reduce potential injury and death in the event of a real earthquake.
Minutes before the drill, participants were notified with safety information via text
messages through the campus' emergency notification system.
Additionally, several specialized drills were concurrently conducted. An injured party discovery drill took place while the campus' facilities crew responded to a simulated gas leak. The campus emergency team also practiced an electric Evac-chair drill to simulate an evacuation of a person in a wheelchair. An Evac-chair allows a safe controlled descent/ascent of a mobility impaired individual and evacuation from multilevel buildings without incurring heavy lifting.
The drill was completed in approximately 40 minutes. The College has participated in the event since 2011. More than 21 million people participated in this annual event worldwide. The Great California Shakeout began in 2008 in Southern California, and in 2009 it was held statewide. As of 2016, the worldwide preparedness event involves 70+ countries.
-END-
Stay Connected