Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill Conducted At EVWD Headquarters

At 10:15 am on Thursday Oct. 15, East Valley Water District participated in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill. “The safety of our customers and staff is the District’s highest priority,” said John Mura, General Manager/CEO. “Our goal is to evaluate our emergency operations plan, improve response skills, save lives, and reduce injuries. The ShakeOut provided an opportunity to practice our response in the event of a major earthquake.” The district joined schools, businesses, non-profits, government agencies, and many other organizations in the world’s largest earthquake drill. Participants included district staff, customers and visitors to the Headquarters on Greenspot Road in Highland. The drill included hands-on exercises, simulating an earthquake event to test and execute an emergency operations plan. This effort is among several activities that occur throughout the year as part of the district’s emergency preparedness program. More than 21 million people worldwide practiced “drop, cover and hold on” and other aspects of their emergency plans with the purpose of encouraging communities and organizations to be prepared to survive and recover quickly when the next big earthquake occurs. Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills are coordinated by the Southern California Earthquake Center in association with federal, state and local governments, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Science Foundation. Major earthquakes may happen anywhere you live, work and travel. The Great ShakeOut provides an opportunity to practice protection techniques and emergency preparedness. For more information, visit www.earthquakecountry.org.