Malibu public schools joined in with hundreds of other schools across California last week to participate in the Great California ShakeOut, an annual earthquake preparedness drill that this year involved over 10 million students.
According to Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School Principal Mark Demick, this year’s drill went off without a hitch, with students all the way down to preschoolers following instructions and learning how to stay safe.
“We had to first drop and cover and hold, and we go on the intercom and try to use it as an instructional time to teach kids what to do,” Demick said.
“They did well,” Demick said, “We have preschoolers … they get a little freaked out, but the teachers did a good job.”
The drill took place Thursday, Oct. 16 at 10:16 a.m. According to the Great California ShakeOut website, these drills are scheduled for the morning of the third Thursday in October every year.
Demick added that after going through an earthquake at a school in Washington state, he came to truly appreciate these drills as a way to protect students.
“I’ve been through this and I know how much practice with these drills can really save lives and they’re really meaningful,” Demick said.
For students, it’s all about repeating the steps until they become second nature.
“When there’s an earthquake, there’s nobody who comes on the intercom that says ‘drop, cover and hold,’ they have to know that instinctively,” Demick said, adding, “We need to practice that, and … it’s going to take a while.”
Malibu High Principal Dave Jackson added that having earthquake drills twice a year means that once students reach the high school level, they have safety down to a science.
“I was really proud of our 1,100 kids. They did exactly what they were supposed to do, every single one of them,” Jackson said.
The drill, which at PDMSS took about 35 or 40 minutes, was much shorter for the teenagers at MHS.
“We set aside an amount of time, but we were done 15 to 18 minutes early,” Jackson said.
While Malibu students and teachers are ready to handle an earthquake with military-like precision, it’s possible that parents may end up presenting the biggest variable.
“I’ve been through real earthquakes at school, and you can tell the parents whatever you like, but they’re still coming, if they can get to you, and we understand that,” Jackson said.
Although Jackson pointed out that MHS is stocked with dried food, water, medical supplies and a satellite phone, they are ready for parents who rush to campus in the event of an emergency.
“We can funnel kids back to parents. We have emergency cards and they have to produce ID so we only let kids back to their parents,” Jackson said.
There has not been a major earthquake in Malibu in modern memory, but according to geologist Dr. Gerry Simila with California State University at Northridge, who did research on Pepperdine’s campus in 2006, Malibu rests on a major fault line. His research assistant, Pepperdine adjunct professor Joe Green, spoke to the Pepperdine Graphic at the time.
“Unbeknownst to many, several earthquakes occur in southern California on a daily basis,” Green told the Graphic. “However, most are not large enough to cause damage or even feel.”
“I can say for sure that a large earthquake will occur in the future,” Green added.