HSU Offers Emergency Preparedness Classes in Run-up to ‘ShakeOut’ Drill

Humboldt State University will host an emergency preparedness class on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. in Goodwin Forum, Nelson Hall East, in anticipation of the statewide Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 10:20 a.m.

The Sept. 28 class, presented by Jan Marnell from University Police Department Emergency Management, is geared specifically to disaster readiness in the classroom, across campus and at home. Marnell will survey potential hazards and instruct attendees in the “Drop! Cover! Hold On!” maneuver that is recommended during an earthquake until the shaking stops.

Marnell will present her class again on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. in the same location, Goodwin Forum, the day before the Great California ShakeOut.

A separate two-hour course, hosted by Judy Warren of HSU’s Humboldt Earthquake Education Center, is scheduled Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 2:00 p.m., again in Goodwin Forum. Titled, “Living on Shaky Ground: How to Survive Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Northern California,” the class will examine preparedness in detail.

HSU will have representatives at an off-campus disaster preparedness event on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville. It is sponsored by “Humboldt’s Ready,” a group of area businesses and organizations that includes the Red Cross, United Way, Sudden Link, Coast Central Realty, AAA, Boy Scouts of America and the McKinleyville Community Services District, among others. Tables and literature will provide detailed information about household and family readiness in the event of an earthquake or tsunami. Free food and prizes will be available.

Registration for HSU classes is posted at training.humboldt.edu.

Details about the annual Great California ShakeOut on Oct. 20 are at www.ShakeOut.org.