Students practice earthquake preparedness during the “Great Utah Shaking” statewide

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SALT LAKE CITY – Drop it, cover it and grab it.

Emergency management experts want Utah to remember these words during an earthquake. More than 870,000 Utahs practiced this response Thursday at the Great Utah ShakeOut.

If you’ve lived in Utah long enough, you know that parts of the state are historically well overdue for major earthquakes. According to the ShakeOut website, 90% of Utahs live in active earthquake zones, but those who live along the Wasatch Fault are particularly at risk.

That’s why schools, workplaces, and families have joined the statewide effort to prepare for such an emergency. Participants included schools in the Canyons, Granite, Jordan, and Salt Lake City school districts, as well as companies such as Macey’s and Ace Hardware.

Canyon View Elementary School principal Kiersten Draper says the school conducts emergency drills every month, but earthquakes get special attention.

“We all take it very seriously, but this has the potential,” she said.

Parents, staff and students have been warned ahead of time that the exercises will not take place. Fourth grade teacher Emily Weigel even wrote it on the board as part of the class schedule.

Weigel went over what the students had to do a few minutes before the exercise, showing how to walk along the wall to the nearest entrance if they got caught in a corridor during an earthquake.

The kids were watching and listening eagerly, asking what-if questions about theoretical disasters and adding on what their mothers had told them, until a growl slid over the megaphone and slid under their desks.

Apart from an occasional excited whisper or the appearance of a curious head, they sat quietly and held the metal legs of the desk for five and a half minutes, until the commotion ceased and they came out with sighs of false relief.

Draper said she feels confident that teachers and students will know what to do in the event of a real earthquake. “That’s something they really have in their muscle memory. And since they’ve been doing it since kindergarten, you know, they have a lot of practice.”

The school informs parents and students about the exercises in advance in case a child has sensory concerns and needs headphones or an extra adult in the room.

Stormie Ortiz participates in the third grade Utah ShakeOut statewide at Lincoln Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Thursday. An earthquake preparedness exercise encourages Utahs to practice what to do in the event of a major earthquake. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News) What should I do if an earthquake occurs?

The Earthquake Country Alliance provides seven steps to staying safe during an earthquake. The first four steps are preliminary: securing your space by identifying hazards and securing movable items, creating an emergency plan, organizing emergency supplies, and reducing financial hardship by strengthening your home and considering earthquake insurance.

The fifth step is the oft-repeated mantra: drop, cover and hold. If you feel a shaking or get an alert, get down immediately on your hands and knees, wherever you are, to reduce your chance of falling or hitting flying objects and to protect your vital organs.

Then, cover your head and crawl to the nearest desk or table. If there is no such shelter nearby, head for an interior wall. Hold on to something firm and cover your head until the shaking stops.

You may have been encouraged to run outside or stand in a doorway when there’s an earthquake, but the Country Earthquake Coalition says those methods are outdated. The Alliance’s website also touches on how to protect yourself in certain places, such as outside, driving, or in bed.

The sixth and seventh steps come after the earthquake: improving safety by evacuating and assisting the wounded, restoring contact with others and rebuilding what was damaged.

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