People drop, cover, hold on as they practice in national earthquake drill
Drop, cover and hold on. It is a technique many students in eastern Idaho practiced today as they took part in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.
It was just like any other Thursday in Melissa Reed’s second-grade class at Longfellow Elementary School in Idaho Falls. But at 10:18 a.m., that changed.
Students took cover under desks practicing what they would do in case an earthquake happened.
“It is about a 57-second-long drill, where all of our students, not only in this building but across the entire district and many, many other districts in the state and across the country practiced what they would do during an earthquake,” said Steven Andrew, the principal at Longfellow Elementary School.
When the “earthquake” ended, students were told to evacuate the building. They formed lines and followed their teachers outside to a safe area.
Once all students and staff were accounted for and it was deemed safe to go back inside, the drill was over.
“You know, the kids are curious about everything,” said Reed. “They’re curious about the earth and the earthquakes and how things happen. When we practice the earthquake drill, they naturally have questions about it, but they take it really well. We discuss what’s going to happen and I think that helps alleviate some of the fears they may have.”
The children know why it’s important to do these drills.
“Because if there were a real one, then we would want us to be safe,” said Brinnley, a second-grader.
The drill on Thursday is part of Idaho Falls School District 91’s overall safety agenda.
“We meet with the principals once a month to talk about safety plans within the district, the different drills that we’re doing,” said Rebecca Chidester, the safety coordinator at District 91. “The principals then go forth and teach their staff, who then teach their kids. It’s a unified approach as a district to make sure we’re all on the same page with safety.”
This was Longfellow Elementary’s first time taking part in the national drill, but staff hope to continue doing this and many more safety drills.
“Where we are is a place with natural hazards, including earthquakes,” Andrew said. “It’s important for our students to be aware of that. Hopefully, they never have to use this knowledge, but in case the occasion does ever happen, it’d be nice for them to be prepared.”
Others, including the Bonneville School District 93 and the Pocatello City Hall, also participated in the drill.
Nearly 82,000 organizations in Idaho dropped, covered and held on.
This was the 10th annual Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.
