Courtesy
Do you know about The Great ShakeOut? Each year on a specific day and time, millions of people worldwide take part in quick real-time earthquake drills wherever they are – at work, school, home, or out and about. It just takes a few minutes! I’ve been doing it for several years now, and it’s pretty darn fun (even if my family sometimes thinks I’m a bit too prepared).
How does the Great ShakeOut drill work? At 10:17 a.m. on Oct. 17 – so, at 10:17 on 10/17 – you pretend an earthquake is happening and do exactly what you would do if the earth was really shaking. More on that later. It might look and feel embarrassing to you at the time, but my thought is always “Embarrassment be damned – this is my life and safety we are talking about!”
If you want a reminder about the exercise, you can download the MyShake phone app (from your phone’s app store; works in Washington, California and Oregon) and set it up to remind you (this app, which I’ve mentioned before, will also alert you to actual earthquakes in your area and elsewhere). The app is optional, but it will alert you at the time of the event and play sounds to let you know how LONG to do the drill for. (It’s just under a minute.). The ShakeOut site also offers an audio alert that you can play instead (useful if you don’t want to do the drill at 10:17 a.m. but want to practice another time at home.)
Doing this one simple exercise just once a year can help you and your family be more prepared for the Big One. And in Seattle, the Big One might be just around the corner – and you wouldn’t have had any practice! Have I sold you on this yet? If so, go to the website to learn more: www.shakeout.org/washington/
Otherwise, read on as I tell you more about how this fun exercise works.
The new earthquake acronym: DCHO
You might have heard this nugget of earthquake advice in the past: find the nearest doorway and hold on tight. The current thinking is a bit different. In an emergency, you likely won’t have time to get to a doorway. You should take cover as best you can right near where you are.
During the Great Shakeout, that’s what you’ll do. When an earthquake happens, you’ll DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON. The Great Shakeout website has more on this, but here are the basics from the site:
DROP where you are, onto your hands and knees. This position protects you from being knocked down and reduces your chances of being hit by falling or flying objects.
COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand.
If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath for shelter.
If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall.
Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.
HOLD ON until the shaking stops.
Under shelter: hold on to it with one hand; be ready to move with your shelter if it shifts
No shelter: hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.
The website also has recommendations for people with mobility issues. Per the ShakeOut website, if you use a cane, DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON or sit on a chair, bed, etc. and cover your head and neck with both hands. Keep your cane near you so it can be used when the shaking stops. And if you use a walker or wheelchair: LOCK your wheels (if applicable). If using a walker, carefully get as low as possible. Bend over and COVER your head/neck with your arms, a book, or a pillow. Then HOLD ON until the shaking stops.
Dana ArmstrongWhat if you’re not inside when you do the exercise?
The USGS website (usgs.gov) has some guidance on what to do if you are outside during an earthquake:
If you are OUTSIDE — get into the OPEN, away from buildings, power lines, chimneys, and anything else that might fall on you.
If you are driving at 10:17 on 10/17, I recommend you just think about what you might do if there was an earthquake. The USGS does recommend that in the event of an (actual) earthquake, you stay inside your car until any shaking stops.
How I did in the last Great ShakeOut
Last year, I was out of town for the Great ShakeOut and promptly forgot about the drill during my busy trip, though I’d planned to do it. The ShakeOut that year had a separate test the night before (I don’t think this is a regular thing), so I got a surprise alert at 3 a.m., not during the usual drill time. Imagine my surprise when my phone buzzed with an “alert” warning in the middle of the night while I was asleep in a hotel room. But hey, a FINE opportunity to practice. I was a bit groggy and confused, since the drill wasn’t supposed to happen yet, but I went ahead and did it (to the consternation of my spouse). I rolled out of bed, scooted my bum over to the hotel room’s nearby desk, and held on to the desk leg until the app told me the exercise was over. I figure I might have made it through an actual earthquake with a few less scratches. (I also got to do the real drill the next morning, but it was a lot less exciting and I was a bit grumpy about it.)
Anyway, thanks as always for reading. I hope you’ll consider participating this year and sharing the Great ShakeOut website with your west coast friends and family.
Special thanks to Linda Norlen of the Lakewood Seward Park Hub for providing source material for this column – and Margie Carter for the idea!
As always, this column is part of Madison Park Emergency Hub’s outreach effort. We’re an all-volunteer org focused on neighbors helping each other in an emergency. We had our annual drill Sept. 22 – hope I saw some of you there. We always need volunteers and ideas for new ways to prepare, and there are so many roles to choose from. If you’d like to get involved with neighbors who want to help neighbors, it’s a really light lift AND a lot of fun (don’t get me started on using a handheld radio!). Mail us at madparkhub@gmail.com with questions or to get on our mailing list.
A postscript on the subject of earthquakes and their fallout: Omar from The Mesothelioma Center in Florida read my column on useful emergency websites and asked me to share some info on asbestos exposure in disasters: www.asbestos.com/asbestos/natural-disasters/. So now I know that the rare cancer mesothelioma (www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/symptoms/) can be caused by asbestos exposure. Yet another reason to keep a mask in your earthquake “ditch bag”!