More than 63,000 Washoe County School District students and their teachers took cover under their desks today as part of the Great Nevada ShakeOut earthquake drill. Not to worry though, you haven’t missed the drill. The students did the drill one week ahead of the rest of the world to accommodate their new fall break schedule.
“The school district shows great leadership for the community in holding this important annual drill early, giving the students more practice, more earthquake awareness,” Graham Kent, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory director and director of the Nevada Shakeout, said. “The schools will be closed next week, so the district decided to hold it today 10/10 at 10:10.”
Kent urges all Nevadans to join the more than half million other Nevada residents who have already signed up to participate in the fourth annual Great Nevada ShakeOut Thursday, Oct.17 at 10:17 a.m. and remember to ‘Drop, Cover and Hold On.’
“It’s easy to sign-up, it only takes about one minute,” Kent said. “Just go to www.shakeout.org/nevada and follow the simple instructions.”
The Great Nevada ShakeOut is an annual opportunity to practice earthquake safety and prepare for the possibility of a major earthquake. The ShakeOut is not something individuals need to leave work to participate in; in fact, participation at work is encouraged. Businesses, organizations, schools, and government agencies can register and have their employees practice the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” action or have a more extensive emergency drill. It is an opportunity to review and update emergency preparedness plans and supplies, and to secure spaces in order to prevent damage and injuries.
“A record number of participants in Nevada are registered, and we’d like to see even more,” Kent, also a geophysicist in the College of Science at the University, said. “In our seismically active state it’s important to be ready for an earthquake.”
Participants are asked on Oct.17 at 10:17 a.m., wherever they are – at home, at work, at school, anywhere, unless they are driving – to drop, cover and hold on as if there were a major earthquake occurring at that very moment, and to stay in that position for at least 60 seconds.
“The theme for this year’s Great Nevada ShakeOut is ‘making a family plan’,” Kent said. “Households around Nevada are encouraged to find a neutral location, other than their home or local neighborhood, to meet after an earthquake or other natural catastrophe in the event that family members are separated and are unable to re-enter their neighborhood.”
So far, in western Nevada 129,766 participants in the counties of Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe are registered for the event. Central, northeastern and southern Nevada have 7,948 participants and Clark County is leading the number of participants with 396,655.
“Make sure to be counted in the largest-ever earthquake drill in Nevada – and the world,” Kent said. “All Nevadans interested in participating should visit the Great Nevada ShakeOut website to be counted in this year’s drill.”
The State of Nevada lies within one of the most seismically active regions in the United States. Along with California and Alaska, Nevada ranks in the top three states subject to the largest earthquakes throughout the last 150 years.
The Great Nevada ShakeOut is part of the world-wide Great ShakeOut conducted in conjunction with National Preparedness Month and with more than 22.8 million people worldwide registered to participate.
For more information and to sign up for the drill, visit the Great Nevada ShakeOut website at http://www.shakeout.org/
