The Great American Shake Out!

 

 

Today is the day!!  At 10:20 am, we will be conducting an emergency earthquake planning drill as part of the Great NM Shakeout Event to test our emergency notification systems.  What do you need to do?

 

  • Review the attached safety actions so that you are aware of what you need to do in the event of a real earthquake.
  • Watch for the NMSU emergency notification message about this emergency drill.  Depending on how you have signed up for notifications, you may get a text, an email, a call, or all of the above.
  • If you are on campus, listen for the DACC phone paging system emergency notification that will go out to phones in all DACC offices and classrooms and be listed on TV’s in common areas.

 

And finally:

  • After 10:20 am, respond to the follow up survey to let us know you received the notifications.  Respond by going to this link: https://forms.office.com/r/s2pB1jTN2T  or using the following QR code to answer a few questions as part of our overall evaluation of our emergency notification systems.

 

Join Us

Whether we live in earthquake country or may one day visit an area where earthquakes are possible, we need to know how to protect ourselves during earthquakes. Small earthquakes occur somewhere in NM every day, although most are small and do not cause significant damage. Many of our students may have never experienced an earthquake and have had little to no earthquake preparedness education. Some of us may know what to do, but have not practiced how to protect ourselves since we were children.

 

Help us keep our students and community prepared and safe by encouraging participation in the DACC Great New Mexico ShakeOut earthquake drill (www.shakeout.org/newmexico) on Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 10:20 AM. This drill will also test our emergency communication and notification processes which are utilized in any emergency event. We will be conducting this emergency drill at each of DACC’s six campuses.

 

Each year more than 25 million people participate in Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills worldwide, in K-12 schools, colleges, businesses, government agencies, other organizations, and households. The City of Las Cruces is also participating in this event along with DACC.

 

Participants can learn about and practice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On” (and other aspects of their emergency plans):

· DROP to the ground (before the earthquake drops you!),

· COVER your head and neck with your arms and seek additional shelter by getting under a sturdy desk or table if nearby; and

· HOLD ON to your shelter and be prepared to move with it until the shaking stops.

 

If there is no table or desk near you, drop to the ground and then, if possible, get next to an interior wall of the room. Be in a crawling position to protect your vital organs and be ready to move if necessary, and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms. Do not move to another location or run outside. Earthquakes occur without any warning and may be so violent that you cannot run or crawl. These are guidelines for most situations; go to www.earthquakecountry.org/step5 to learn what to do in specific settings.

 

https://www.shakeout.org/newmexico/

 

Other preparedness recommendations

· Everyone should sign up for our school’s emergency notification system https://emergency.nmsu.edu/users/sign_in.

· Everyone should also have an emergency kit in your car and home and an out-of-state contact you and your family can call to check-in after a major event.

· For preparedness information and resources specific to NMSU/DACC, you can visit https://emergencyplanning.nmsu.edu/.