The Great Hawai‘i ShakeOut: UH Hilo and Hawai‘i Community College to have earthquake drill Oct. 15
As a part of emergency planning and preparedness, UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC will be utilizing various means of emergency communications to inform the university community of the drill.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo along with Hawaiʻi Community College will be participating in the Great Shakeout on Oct. 15, 2015. Millions of people worldwide will practice how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 15, during Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills.
“While we do not expect everyone to ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On,’ we hope that you will take this opportunity to become aware of what to do should an earthquake occur during university classes or activities,” says Ken Ikeda, environmental safety specialist at UH Hilo, in a recent email to the university community.
Earthquakes in Hawaiʻi are closely linked to volcanism, explains Ikeda in the email. They are an important part of the island-building processes that have shaped the island of Hawaiʻi and the other Hawaiian islands. Thousands of earthquakes occur every year beneath the island of Hawaiʻi.
As a part of emergency planning and preparedness, UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC will be utilizing various means of emergency communications to inform the university community of the drill. At 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 15, a UH Alert test message will be sent out and the emergency notification system will be activated via synchronous clocks in classrooms and common areas. The LED clock bars will scroll the message across the screen and make an audible announcement.
The community college also will utilize the emergency features of “blue light” phones to announce the drill.
Members of the UH community can sign up online to receive UH Alert text messages on cell phones.
Additional information regarding the Great ShakeOut drills can be found on their website. Resources such as earthquake pre-planning and preparedness can be found on the website as well.
Information regarding what to do in the event of an earthquake can be found in the UH Hilo Emergency Operations Plan.
“While we understand that this may be a temporary inconvenience, we hope that the activation of our emergency communication systems for a short period of time will allow people to become familiar with the university’s ability to provide timely notification in the event of emergency,” says Ikeda in the email communication. “In addition we hope that participation in the Great ShakeOut will raise awareness to the potential hazards of earthquakes in Hawaiʻi.”
For more information, contact Ken Ikeda or Thom Curtis.
The Great Hawaiʻi Shakeout
In addition to its internal exercise on Oct. 15, UH Hilo also is supporting the statewide earthquake preparedness drill.
Partners supporting The Great Hawaiʻi ShakeOut are the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency—formerly State Civil Defense—the Department of Education, local emergency management and civil defense agencies, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Hawaiʻi Public Charter Schools Network, the American Red Cross, and UH Hilo.
The DOE will be asking all schools within its jurisdiction to participate in the drill, with the exception of Kauaʻi, where a Teacher Institute Day is being held. Kauaʻi County will participate in the drill at another scheduled time.
Drills like the ShakeOut provide an opportunity to update emergency plans and supplies, and to ensure safety in the home and workplace to prevent damage and injury. Hawaiʻi residents can participate in local earthquake drill activities by registering for the 2015 Great Hawaii ShakeOut. Participating is a great way for families and organizations to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes whether at home, work or traveling.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
