Tomorrow, April 20, the Utah Valley University community will again join hundreds of thousands of people statewide for the annual Great Utah ShakeOut. The earthquake exercise enables participants to plan and prepare for a potential Wasatch Front earthquake.

At 10:15 a.m., students, faculty, staff, and visitors will be notified via an overhead broadcast system, a text message, and a computer alert that the exercise is beginning. Individuals are encouraged to drop, cover, and hold on. Dropping to the floor prevents falls, covering prevents injuries from plummeting objects, and holding on maintains those protective measures. We ask that you stay in place for a minute before resuming your usual activities.

UVU will practice several emergency actions in conjunction with the statewide exercise, such as:

• Communications with off-campus entities using HAM radios.
• Our ability to care for injured on campus. You may see UVU EMT students preparing for a mass casualty incident.
• Multiple ways to communicate with students, staff, and faculty.
• UVU facilities staff will also conduct a brief building-by-building assessment.

“This exercise also affords us the opportunity to think about our individual response plans,” said Robin Ebmeyer, UVU director of Emergency Management and Safety. “What would happen with your family and those you care about if an earthquake occurred while you were at work?”

Our community is in an earthquake zone, and while no one can predict earthquakes, we can prepare for them.

The Great Utah ShakeOut is the state’s largest earthquake drill, and you can find out more about it here.