A great big thank you to all who participated in today’s Great Shakeout!  I especially want to thank Melinda Carrillo, Estela Gibson, Anna Hilton, Roger Carter, Rebecca Coleman, and Rocco Versaci for helping us monitor the hallways and post and gather information.

I was quite happy to see our faculty, staff, and students taking the drill so seriously (in a happy way!): moved away from the windows, crunched down under their desks.  Most impressive! Also, many of our language instructors built vocabulary lessons around the topic of earthquake safety.

Thus far, we have collected 52 surveys from our building, many of which spoke to the volume of the Informacast and the fact that, if you were in the hallway or restroom at the time of the Informacast, you would not have known that we were having a drill.

Someone correctly pointed out that one cannot cover one’s head and neck with one’s hands and arms AND hold onto a study object at the same time. Good catch!  Several of you expressed concern about the projector and lights (I would add windows to the list!).

A number of people wrote that they did not have a plan for checking in with loved ones if their cell phone did not work.  In the event of a widespread emergency, this could be a challenge.  Families should consider having a single point of contact who lives out of the area to try to reach by landline to check in.  It’s also a good idea to have a plan for meeting at a particular place and discuss how you would get there from work or from school.

We will follow up soon with ideas to address the concerns you have mentioned in your surveys!