The Great Washington Shake Out - October 16
Are you prepared? Are you really?
It's almost time for the annual Great Washington Shake Out. This is a preparedness exercise conducted to test your preparedness and educate family and friends on what to do in the event of a major earthquake.
At 10:16 a.m. (local time) on 10/16, you can join millions of people across Washington practicing earthquake safety. While we encourage you to participate with everyone, you can register your ShakeOut drill for any day of the year, and drill at a time of your choice. You can also include people in multiple locations through video conferencing.
If you live or work in a coastal area, ShakeOut day is also a great time to practice your tsunami evacuation routes. Learn more about tsunami preparedness at TsunamiZone.org.
Getting Ready
Earthquakes can strike at any time. The key is to be ready BEFORE the earthquake hits. Some things you can do to ensure YOU are ready:
- Create a "Go-bag" for your personal needs. This will have any identification documents you don't normally carry (like your passport), a change of clothes, any medications you take, and other items of need. This bag is the one you grab on your way out the door if you have to evacuate. Remember, SAFETY FIRST! Nothing else will matter if you are a casualty.
- Create an "Emergency Stash". This is a stash of food, water, and other needs for you and your family. This should be stored in a safe location, and periodically inspected to ensure it is up-to-date and secure. You can even create multiple stashes, just in case one becomes unavailable. Buildings can collapse, so perhaps one of your stashes should be in a secure location outside your primary residence.
- Create a "Communications Plan". How will you communicate with friends and family, both in and outside the affected area? Remember, the phone systems (including cell phones) may be disrupted. You should designate at least one contact outside the area. This is the person you would contact in the event of an emergency. They would then contact other family and friends to pass along your message.
Use this handy worksheet to help create your preparedness plan.
A more detailed planning aide is the "Two-weeks Ready" worksheet.
After the Earthquake
When the shaking stops, gather your family in a safe place. Ensure your immediate needs are met. When able, begin to execute your plan. Communicate your status to your out-of-area contacts. Communicate any emergency concerns to your local emergency resources.
LWHC is coordinating with local ARES and RACES teams on the possibility of using LWHC repeaters for communicating status and needs. We will have more information on this later.
In Conclusion
We hope to see you all for the Great Washington Shake Out. If you have further questions, you can probably find everything you need on the Shakeout website: https://www.shakeout.org/washington/