CWU Prepares for the Great ShakeOut October 20

  • October 18, 2016
Aerial shot of Ellensburg campus

Earthquakes can come with little or no warning. What would you do if one happened right now? Would you know what three immediate actions you need to take to save your life?

“Drop! Cover! Hold on!” are what local students and the community are practicing as part of a preparedness movement. The annual Great ShakeOut is a worldwide emergency preparedness drill that focuses on educating people about the safest and best practices for surviving a natural disaster.

The ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. on October 20. This means that wherever you are at that moment—at home, at work, at school, anywhere—you should Drop, Cover, and Hold On as if a major earthquake had occurred at that very moment. You should stay in this position for at least 60 seconds.
Drop! Cover! Hold on!
Drop! Cover! Hold on!


The drill emphasizes the urgent need for people, organizations, schools, communities, and businesses to practice what to do to be safe and ready before an earthquake strikes, according to a Washington State Military Department media release. In addition, coastal communities will test their tsunami alert sirens at the same date and time using the real sound of the siren, not the Westminster Chimes that typically happen during the monthly tests.

Central will use the ShakeOut to test CWU Alert!, Central’s emergency alert system. CWU Alert! combines the technologies of text messaging, e-mail, and telephone messages to be sent instantly to campus community subscribers whenever there is a campus emergency. CWU Alert! is immediately activated when an incident poses an imminent threat to the safety of the community.

This year, 53 million registered participants from more than 70 counties, including several in the state of Washington, will participate in the ShakeOut. For more information about the ShakeOut, go to www.shakeout.org/washington/index.html

Media Contact: Dawn Alford, Public Affairs, 509-963-1484, dawn.alford@cwu.edu.

October 18, 2016

CWU News

Barge Hall and Shaw Smyser Hall

CWU Trustees to meet in Ellensburg May 21-22

May 14, 2026 by

Portrait of a Man Looking Forward

Senior BFA exhibition explores mental health, trans experience

May 13, 2026 by

More News

Additional Resources