Living on the West Coast brings many perks—unmatched weather, access to top destinations, proximity to incredible employment choices, and so much more. But with these great privileges comes great responsibility to be prepared. And as any Californian will tell you, every resident must be ready for a host of potential natural disasters such as earthquakes, fire, wind, and so on. And APU’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) wholeheartedly agrees.
On Thursday, Oct. 21, Azusa Pacific University will participate in the annual Great Shake Out earthquake drill, focusing on a fire-drill evacuation component over the “duck, cover, and hold on” aspect. Considered the largest drill in the world, the Great Shake Out drill includes more than 5.2 million participants in California, and almost 17.4 million worldwide.
On APU’s Azusa campuses, fire alarms will signal the beginning of the evacuation drills at 10 a.m. for West Campus and 2 p.m. for East Campus. The drills are expected to last about 45 minutes each. After all buildings have been evacuated, an “all clear” announcement will be made by the public address system, and CIRT members at each evacuation area will be notified to announce the “all clear” to re-enter buildings.
By participating in these drills, APU seeks to strengthen campus planning surrounding emergency and disaster response. It is important that students, faculty, and staff are prepared ahead of time, in the case of a true emergency.
Look for more instructions and details on the drill in the Provost and Engage! newsletters.