Get Healthy Carson City: Great Nevada ShakeOut is Thursday

Would you like to participate in the world’s largest earthquake drill? On Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10:15 am, the Great ShakeOut will take place. This year, over 14.8 million people worldwide will be participating in this quick and easy drill to learn how to DROP, COVER, and HOLD On.

Nevadans are no stranger to these seismic events. In the United States, Nevada ranks third overall in the number of large earthquakes over the last 150 years.

When an earthquake randomly hits, time is of the essence. You need to make sure you are prepared for an event like this, and what better way to prepare than to practice?

Practice is very important since we live in what is considered “Earthquake Country.” If an earthquake hits, you should take these steps to protect yourself:

DROP: When you feel the shaking begin, quickly and safely drop to the ground. Otherwise, the mighty force of the earthquake may cause you to lose your balance and fall. This also allows you to be in an able position to crawl out of harm’s way.

COVER: Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand as you look for additional cover in your immediate surrounding. Try to find a strong table or desk that you can get under. If there is absolutely nothing to seek shelter under, then crawl to a nearby wall that is away from any windows.

HOLD ON: Grab whatever heavy object you have found and hold on! Be ready in case the shaking causes whatever you are holding onto to move. If this happens, make sure you move with the object to stay protected.

To further your preparedness for an earthquake, you should always make sure you have an emergency kit packed and ready. The kit should contain items such as water, snacks, flashlights, warm clothing, first aid supplies, and any needed medications. You and your family should also be prepared with a disaster plan containing escape routes and a meet-up point in case you were to get split up in the event of an emergency.

All Nevadans can participate in The Great Nevada Shake Out. Last year over 590,000 Nevadans participated; this year over 490,000 are signed up to participate so far. Many businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and faith-based organizations have already signed up. You can also sign up as an individual or family. If you would like to sign up and be more prepared in the event of an earthquake, visit https://www.shakeout.org/nevada/register/ to register. To see if you your organization is already registered, visit https://www.shakeout.org/nevada/whoisparticipating/.

Carson City Health and Human Services urges everyone to take steps to be better prepared for earthquakes and other disasters. For information about services and programs available to you through Carson City Health and Human Services, visit https://gethealthycarsoncity.org/, or call (775) 887-2190. You can also find us at 900 E. Long St., in Carson City, or follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/cchhs, Twitter @CCHealthEd, or Instagram @GetHealthCarsonCity.