 Today at 10:15 am, hundreds of communities and organizations throughout Indiana will hold ShakeOut drills! (Indiana has chosen to ShakeOut on April 19 due to statewide in-school testing on April 28*.) There are now nearly 600,000 people in the Hoosier State expected to participate (the most of any participating state!), thanks to the great work of the Indiana Dept. of Homeland Security, the Indiana Dept. of Education, and the Indiana Geological Survey. Also, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has even recognized April 19, 2011 as "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Day" in Indiana!
The rest of the region will hold their ShakeOut drills on April 28, 2011* at 10:15am. Currently, there are more than 2.3 million people registered to participate across eleven states in the central U.S. (including Indiana), but there are also drills being held in London, England, Anchorage, Alaska, and everywhere in between! Your continued support for preparing for earthquakes is inspiring others around the nation and world to take action. Thanks to those of you who have helped us make this possible by spreading the word.
(* While we encourage all others to participate on April 28, you may schedule your drill anytime within a week of this date if it is better for you or your organization.)
ShakeOut Spotlight: Indianapolis Public Schools
As the central United States is earthquake country, it is important for students, faculty, and staff in K‐12 schools to know what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. This is true for childcare centers, classrooms, schools and districts. The ShakeOut provides an opportunity for schools to practice these important steps. By practicing now, classrooms and schools can learn how to better prepare themselves for earthquakes and other disasters, reducing the potential risk of injuries and damages to students and staff.
Indianapolis Public Schools will participate in the ShakeOut on April 19th, 2011, with more than 60 sites, 30,000 students, and nearly 2,500 faculty and staff participating in the drill. According to Richard Myers, Director of Safety Programs at IPS, "Since this is so important, the "ShakeOut" drill will be documented and completed in addition to fire, lockdown and tornado drills that are already being carried out. Our Safety Office will implement this drill into our Emergency Procedures Guide." This is the first district wide earthquake drill IPS has done. We would like to thank IPS and the other districts throughout the region for leading by example. If you would like to be featured in a ShakeOut Spotlight, email us at shakeout@cusec.org.
Have You Seen These Drill Resources?
To help you hold your Shakeout drill, we have several resources available on the website, including: -
 60-second ShakeOut Drill Broadcast audio and video recordings are now available (including versions with earthquake sound effects). Download the recordings (or view on YouTube) to play over your PA system, closed-circuit television system, or on individual computers. Additionally, some radio and TV stations will play the recordings on ShakeOut day. - Simple instructions for how to participate are available for a variety of ShakeOut participant categories, and include custom preparedness information and suggestions for how you can share the ShakeOut with others.
- We have several different Drill Manuals and Earthquake Scenarios (new!) that will help you lead a ShakeOut drill. Each manual has instructions for multiple levels of drills, from a very basic Drop, Cover, and Hold On drill to a more comprehensive exercise of your disaster plan. The scenarios give you an idea of what kinds of things you might expect after a damaging earthquake occurs.
- A variety of presentations, safety fairs, and other events are being planned by many organizations, leading up to the ShakeOut. To add you event to the ShakeOut calendar, please complete our event notification form. If it is a public event we will add it to the ShakeOut calendar.
Prepare, Protect, and Recover!
The ShakeOut is an opportunity for us to prepare together, before a damaging earthquake strikes this region. Each week leading up to the ShakeOut, we have discussed earthquake preparedness tips based on the "Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety". Last week we discussed Step 7, but if this is your first ShakeOut email, you can view previous editions at www.shakeout.org/centralus/updates/.
Find us Online
The ShakeOut is now on FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube! We encourage you to join the discussion, and to follow and share our links within your own social network. Remember to ask people to register to participate with you.
We're all in this together...
The ShakeOut has grown because of people like you, who see the value of practicing how to protect ourselves and for getting prepared for earthquakes. Please forward this email to colleagues, friends, family, and others to make sure they are aware of the ShakeOut and know about the drill. Make sure they know about the ShakeOut Resources page, where you can also download drill manuals, posters, flyers, and other materials.
Thank you for your participation and commitment to earthquake safety! |
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