The event is an opportunity to practice “Drop, Cover and Hold On,” which emergency management experts recommend as the best way to reduce injury during earthquakes.

While real earthquakes begin without warning, the beginning of the Southeast Shakeout drill will be announced using Meredith’s emergency alert system, MC Alert. To received notifications about campus emergencies through MC Alert, you must sign up for the service through Web Advisor - you will need your Web Advisor password to log in. Visit www.meredith.edu/mcalert/ to sign up and for details on how the MC Alert system works.

Drop, Cover and Hold On means

• DROP to the ground (before the earthquake drops you!),
• Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and
• HOLD ON to it until the shaking stops.

If there isn’t a table or desk near you, drop to the ground in an inside corner of the building and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms. Do not try to run to another room just to get under a table.

What Not to Do
DO NOT get in a doorway: An early earthquake photo is a collapsed adobe home with the door frame as the only standing part. From this came the belief that a doorway is the safest place to be during an earthquake. In modern houses and buildings, doorways are no safer, and they do not protect you from flying or falling objects. Get under a table instead.

DO NOT run outside: Trying to run in an earthquake is dangerous, as the ground is moving and you can easily fall or be injured by debris or glass. Running outside is especially dangerous, as glass, bricks or other building components may be falling. You are much safer to stay inside and get under a table.

There are more than 800,000 people in the Southeast scheduled to participate in the October 18 drill. Visit www.shakeout.org/southeast for more on the Southeast Shakeout.

Date Submitted: 2012-10-18