Communities across Western Washington will participate in the Great Washington ShakeOut earthquake drill on Thursday. This is the sixth year the state has participated in the drill.
During the drill, communities, families, businesses and schools will practice their drop, cover and hold skills, according to a press release from the Washington State National Guard’s Emergency Management Division.
The division also is recommending residents make sure they are prepared for a disaster, with two weeks’ worth of food, water and supplies. Emergency Management has expanded the recommendation from three days.
More than 600,000 students, teachers and staff have signed up for the drill. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal will join students in the drill at White River School District in Buckley.
In addition to the earthquake drill, coastal communities will test tsunami sirens at 10:19 a.m. Thursday, using the real siren sound instead of the Westminster chimes used during the monthly tests.
Last year, more than 1.1 million people signed up to participate in the drills. Registration is not required to participate but it helps the emergency management division tally up the number of participants. To register, visit shakeout.org/washington.
New this year, middle school and high school students are creating videos showing the best ways to drop, cover and hold on.
An online question-and-answer session with experts will be held on Facebook Live at the Washington Emergency Management’s Nextdoor account in the days before the drill.
From noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, experts and scientists also will hold a Reddit Ask Me Anything, an online question-and-answer session. The public can ask questions at reddit.com/r/IAmA.
Participants can take photos of themselves participating in the drill and post them on Twitter use the hashtag #ShakeOut or tag the Twitter account at @waShakeOut.
Preparedness tips are available at mil.wa.gov/preparedness or in Spanish at mil.wa.gov/preparese.
