STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN EARTHQUAKE DRILLS
It’s always a good idea to be ready for any situation.
To make sure they are prepared, all of the Woodland Joint Unified School District campuses took that idea further on Thursday when they all participated in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill, followed by an evacuation drill.
Following FEMA’s “National Preparedness Month” in September, the Great ShakeOut drill is traditionally held every year on the third Thursday of October. However, the district moved its event to the fourth Thursday this year due to last week’s inclement weather.
More than 10,000 students and staff participated in earthquake drills and evacuation practices at their sites at staggered times throughout the day to stay prepared in the event of an emergency.
During the self-led drill, participants practiced how to “drop, cover, and hold on” and then walked together to a safe evacuation site. The city of Woodland fire and police departments were also on hand to provide support.
“This is all about ongoing preparedness,” stated Elodia Ortega-Lampkin, interim superintendent for WJUSD. “The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority. We are ensuring that we are always ready to act quickly, safely, and efficiently in an emergency. I’m proud of all our staff and students for doing such an amazing job today.”
At Woodland High School, the drill began a few minutes after 9:45 a.m while students were in their third-period class.
After a “shake shake shake” announcement from the office over the school intercom, students tucked themselves under their desks for a few minutes before they eventually evacuated the campus through the gates with the rest of their class in an incredibly timely manner.
Students huddle under their desks as a part of the District’s earthquake drill Thursday morning. Carlos Guerrero/Daily Democrat After a brief walk toward Christiansen Park, the entire campus stood for another few minutes while teachers took attendance.
“Earthquakes are still a big concern here in California,” said Woodland High School Principal Peter Lambert. “It is very important that we know and practice what to do in case of an emergency. Also, where to go when one happens, and we need to evacuate. While we don’t anticipate there will be an earthquake here, we need to make sure that our students are prepared in case there is a real emergency.”
The district still regularly conducts fire, lockdown, evacuation, and earthquake drills.
“If there was any type of emergency where we needed to get students off-campus, the evacuation drills let the students know where the relocation area is,” Lambert said. “So any reason from an active shooter, gas leak or even an earthquake would get us off the campus and into a relocation area.”