Santa Rosa public library hosts earthquake drill as part of ‘The Great Shakeout’

The date and time of annual drills correspond to Loma Prieta temblor in Bay Area on Oct. 17, 1989.|

TYLER SILVY

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

October 17, 2019

Earthquake safety tips

Drop immediately onto your hands and knees, a position that protects you from being knocked down and allows you to crawl to nearby shelter.

Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If there is no shelter nearby, crawl next to an interior wall away from windows.

Hold on until the shaking stops. Hold on to shelter with one hand and be ready to move with it if it shifts. If you don't have shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

Source:

shakeout.org

Kaya Christian, 2, was hesitant at first.

As the loud, prerecorded voice echoed Thursday through the Rincon Valley Library in northeast Santa Rosa, instructing anyone within earshot to take cover under a desk, she looked quizzically at her dad, Matt Christian. He was doing his best to fit under the kiddie-sized table at the library.

Christian waved to her and she crawled under with a smile.

Smiling was allowed. This was just a test.

Since 2008, public places in California and beyond have hosted annual earthquake drills at 10:17 a.m. on Oct. 17. The date and time of the “Great Shakeout,” started by the United States Geological Survey, correspond to the Loma Prieta earthquake on Oct. 17, 1989. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, the temblor killed 63 people and injured another 3,757 while doing about $6 billion in damage around the Bay Area.

Thursday marked 30 years since Loma Prieta. It also marked the first quake drill for the Rincon Valley Library.

Branch manager Bill Coolidge said he thought it went well.

“Everybody got under the tables,” Coolidge said. “People jumped in and did it.”

The drill started with three long, electronic buzzes bursting through the speaker systems of the library’s phones. It was followed by a prerecorded voice message announcing the drill.

“Practice now so you can protect yourself during a real earthquake,” the recording said.

Emergency management experts recommend people “drop, cover and hold on,” and officials encourage people to duck for cover under tables or desks to prevent injury from falling debris.

More than 24 million people took part in drills Thursday around the globe. More than half -12.7 million - took place in K-12 schools.

About 13,620 people took part at museums or libraries, and about a dozen of those were at the Rincon Valley Library.

Teenagers joined retirees in scrambling for cover under desks at the library, and Coolidge said afterward it was all very anticlimactic.

“We’ve been prepping for two weeks and worrying about it and now it’s here - and now it’s over,” Coolidge said.

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or at tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @tylersilvy.