To continue our training and awareness programs, we are planning several activities on campus this Friday, January 26th. Our primary goals this Friday will be to (1) fully activate our Emergency Operations Center, (2) encourage maximum participation in an evacuation drill, and (3), test our teamwork, communication, and relationships with the local agencies that will respond after a disaster. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the evacuation drill.
EOC ACTIVATION: From 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM, the second floor of the Student and Business Services Building will be a very busy place. There will be dozens of staff and adminstrators participating in a "tabletop" exercise. There will be delays in service at the Cashier's, Extended Education, and Financial Aid offices, and if possible, appointments and trips to these offices should be scheduled for the afternoon or on another day.
EVACUATION DRILL: 11:00- 11:30 AM. At exactly 11:00 AM, ALL members of the campus community are encouraged to spend about 15-30 minutes simulating what they would do when a major earthquake strikes: (1) Duck, cover, hold for 20 seconds or so; (2) move to their Rally Point and count heads; (3) Time permitting, walk to the EAP and organize there; (4) return and reenter building, resume regular activity (of course, after a severe earthquake, damaged buildings should not be re-entered).
Building Coordinators will be provided with whistles to blow in the hallways of their buildings at 11 AM to remind the occupants to begin the earthquake drill. Whether or not you hear an evacuation whistle, please participate. This drill DEPENDS on the leadership of the faculty, administration, and staff supervisors.
FIELD EXERCISES: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. During the afternoon, there will be clusters of organized role-playing and associated emergency response agencies scattered around the campus. The participating personnel and agencies have already been notified; they include Arcata Police, Arcata Fire, Eureka Fire, HSU CERT, the Sheriff's Office, and the US Coast Guard. There will be some impact to parking at the big Mai Kai parking lot, but most scheduled campus activity should proceed without interruption.
Any disaster exercise always produces some anxiety, confusion, and frustration. This will also happen during a real incident. What is important is that through our participation and support for this training, we will continue to improve our personal and campus readiness. If, after the disaster exercise, you have feedback (pro/con) or suggestions regarding HSU emergency management and campus readiness, please email your responses to marnell@humboldt.edu. For more information about these topics, please visit our website at http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/index.php.
Thank you,
Thomas Dewey
Chief of Police
Director, Emergency Operations Center