Local officials, students ‘drop & cover’

On Thursday, Oct. 17, at 10:17 a.m., people attending a meeting in the county’s Public Service Building were in an “earthquake.”

Following Washington State Homeland Security Region 9 Coordinator Darrell Ruby’s instruction, the participants dropped on their hands and knees, got under tables and held on until Ruby gave an “all clear.”

Students at Colfax High School also participated.

According to Principal Buck Marsh, students practiced the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” to prepare for an earthquake.

Marsh said after the drill some students told the principal that although they were taking the drill seriously, they laughed when they saw some of the taller students trying to fit under desks.

Marsh said it’s good for the school to incorporate this drill with the other safety drills.

“We take a minute and 30 seconds for this drill, and it’s a good public safety exercise. I think the drill was very successful,” he said.

State school Superintendent Randy Dorn participated in the 2012 Shakeout at Sumner Middle School. He said he was impressed by how seriously students took the practice.

“They understand that we live in an area that has had earthquakes, and they know the importance of Drop, Cover and Hold On,” he said.

This was part of the Great Washington Shake Out and Drill during the Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting. Many of the officials said they had been in earthquakes, some in California and some on the west side of Washington.

Colfax EMT Scott Kruse told the group about being on an US Navy aircraft carrier docked near Oakland, Calif., in the late 1980s when a major earthquake hit the area. He said they could feel the quake on the carrier. He and many other servicemen assisted with emergency services after the quake.

Ruby said before the drill that the department wanted one million people to register for the drill, and as of that morning, more than 800,000 had registered, with more than 29,300 registered in this region, just short of the goal of 30,000, and exceeding last year’s 21,000 registrants.

More than 2,100 people in Whitman County were registered with more than 1,800 students in Whitman County schools registered.

The Shakeout was organized by several state agencies including the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division, the Washington State Seismic Safety Commission, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Emergency Management Association.

“It’s not because we’d have an earthquake here, but if you’re on the other side of the state, or if you’re in California, you’ll know what to do,” Ruby said.