Drop, cover and hold on: Pine Hill Elementary School takes part in ‘Shake Out’

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Eureka, Ca., (KIEM)- At 10:19 a.m. on 10/19, roughly 55 million people around the world dropped, took cover, and held on, practicing an international earthquake drill.

It’s the Great Shakeout. The annual earth quake safety initiative is observed globally, and in Eureka it shook things up in the classroom for students at Pine Hill Elementary School.

“It was fun!” Dexter LaFaunze said. He’s a student, and he was happy to demonstrate his knowledge. “I just got straight under the desk parallel…fast!”

The principal, Tami Beall, says drills like these are vital across California, “It’s great to be part of a statewide earthquake drill but also here locally we… obviously have a big earthquake area here and its important that we practice all the time.”

Thursday’s drill was a little chaotic for the youngsters, who were mostly in reading class. When Beall announced the drill, they had to evacuate to the playground and find their home room teachers.

“It’s super important so that if there happened to be a real emergency of any kind, they’re not panicky, they’re not surprised, and that they’re ready to perform an emergency drill.” Beall explains.

And Dexter knows what to do, “Well if you have your chair in you move it out, you get under.” He says, “When you do it, you have to get under fast, like, I’m not kidding! If you’re somewhere where it’s open, at least get down low, and again, fast.”

Experts agree that “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” is the best mantra to keep in mind during a quake. For a close up break down, visit the Great Shakeout online: https://www.shakeout.org/dropcoverholdon/

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