Oct. 18, 2017
CWU Alert! Test Scheduled for Great Washington ShakeOut October 19
On 10:19 a.m. on October 19, the Central Washington University community, and thousands of other Washingtonians will “drop, cover, and hold on” in the Great Washington ShakeOut.
Major earthquakes can happen anywhere in Washington. The ShakeOut is a chance for residents to practice protecting themselves and to become prepared. The goal is to prevent a major earthquake from becoming a personal catastrophe. Why is a “drop, cover, and hold on” drill so important? People may only have seconds to protect themselves in an earthquake before strong shaking or falling objects incapacitate them.
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.
The alert message is:
"This is a TEST of Central Washington University's emergency alert system. This is only a TEST. CWU is participating in the Great Washington Shakeout, an earthquake preparedness campaign. In the event of an actual earthquake you should drop, cover and hold. Drop to the ground, take cover by getting under a sturdy object and hold on until the shaking stops. If you are unable to drop, cover and hold, get as low as possible and protect your head and neck and move away from windows or other items that can fall on you. If necessary the SURC is designated as the primary reunification area. If the SURC is not usable the reunification area will be identified at that time. For more information visit www.shakeout.org. This ends our test message."
The Great Washington ShakeOut: http://www.shakeout.org/washington/
CWU Alert!: http://www.cwu.edu/alert/faqs.html
Media Contact: Valerie Chapman-Stockwell, CWU Public Affairs, 509-963-1518, valeriec@cwu.edu