At about 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 15, math instructor Raleigh Guthrey was lecturing his Intro to Statistics and Hypothesis Testing class when a booming voice from the class phone extension announced that everyone should “drop, cover and hold on” for a major earthquake.
Guthrey and his students quickly dropped to the floor and took refuge under the desks, some of the students clutching their text books while others looked around. They were among many others in classrooms, offices and other areas across the CSUSB campus, who received notification by office phone, emails, cell phone, texts and social media about the quake.
But this was just for practice. CSUSB was among the hundreds of colleges, universities and other organizations who were part of the eighth annual Great California ShakeOut, considered the world’s largest earthquake drill.
About an hour earlier, CSUSB geology Professor Joan Fryxell led a group of about 20 students, faculty, staff and visitors on a hike to the San Andreas Fault during the drill. The hikers had the rare opportunity to be able to stand on the tectonic plate boundary, one of the few places in the world where this is possible above sea level, Fryxell said.
“It was a nice sized-group and they asked a lot of questions,” Fryxell said.
The ShakeOut drill, which began in California in 2008, involved more than 25 million people, including more than 9 million in California. It was created to encourage people and organizations to be prepared in order to survive and recover when the next big earthquake happens, said CSUSB emergency manager Rick Blackburn.
“Our intent at Cal State San Bernardino is to increase awareness of our students, faculty and staff on what to do before, during and after an earthquake, and to be aware and prepare for any disaster,” Blackburn said. “We want our students, faculty and staff to act as if the drill is a real earthquake. We want everyone here on campus to ‘drop, cover, and hold on’ when the drill occurs.”
CSUSB had great participation today on campus, including staff, faculty, students, and administrators taking part in the exercise. Taking part of the drill will increase the chances for survival in the event of the “Big One,” Blackburn said.
“Think about this: If you happen to be with a group of people in the midst of a potentially catastrophic event, about 75 to 80 percent of the crowd will do nothing, according to John Leach in ‘Survival Psychology,’” Blackburn said. “Another 10 to 15 percent will do the wrong thing, and only about 10 percent will make the right decisions, and these people who react appropriately will do so because of previous training. Being prepared and both knowing and practicing what to do is everyone's business.”
The earthquake drill also serves as a reminder for individuals to review and update their emergency preparedness plans and supplies, and to secure any furnishings, fixtures and items at home and other locations to prevent damage and injuries.
More information about the event can be found at the Great California ShakeOut website.
Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.