Mark your calendar! Orange Coast College will participate in The Great California ShakeOut on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 10:13 a.m. The annual drill is typically held on the third Thursday of the month of October, however since this date falls during OCC’s midterms week, the College will push up the date of the exercise.
“This exercise helps keep the College and the District in compliance with state and federal codes and laws,” says Emergency Response Coordinator Kris Cutting. “While things have looked a bit different around our facilities for the past 18 months, this requirement remains, and should serve as a reminder that disaster can strike at any time, and this exercise should not only help remind us of what to do in the event of, but also test our systems to ensure proper functionality of our plans and procedures.”
Prior to the event, faculty and staff are asked to review their closest evacuation route and identify the nearest designated evacuation site (typically an open area, away from falling objects). The most recent version of OCC’s evacuation map can be found HERE.
Students, faculty and staff should expect the school’s alarm system to go off at exactly 10:13 a.m., after which there will be a mandatory evacuation to designated sites on campus. Disabled students and staff will be permitted to remain in place during the drill. Building maintenance teams will then inspect every building to verify that they are safe to enter.
Emergency alerts also will be sent out via text and email message to all registered students and employees at 10:03 a.m. advising everyone to drop, cover and hold on. OCC’s Campus Safety department encourages the campus community to do so for at least 60 seconds.
OCC will join more than 10 million Californians participating in the annual earthquake drill. The Great ShakeOut was started in 2008 in California, and has since spread around the world. Following the drill a second notice will be send via email message to all students and employees, as required by the Clery Law.
Typically, the drill takes approximately 15 minutes from start to finish. To find out more about the Great ShakeOut visit www.shakeout.org