UW Emergency Management

December 11, 2017

Great UW ShakeOut 2017: Recap

As 2017 comes to a close, the UW Emergency Management team has been reflecting on some of our biggest events of the past year.

Facebook_ShakeOut_GetReady_1200x900The 2017 Great UW ShakeOut was a huge success, for example! While not required in order to participate, UWEM asked that our friends across the university  register internally with us so that we know how our community is taking advantage of this nation-wide earthquake drill. At the end of the day, 74 departments (totaling almost 4000 people) told us that they participated in the Great UW ShakeOut in some way. While the main purpose of the Great ShakeOut is to practice DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON – many departments use it as an opportunity to also practice fire evacuation procedures, take inventory of emergency kits around the office, and/or update their Business Continuity (BARC) plans.

Additionally, 2017 is the first year in which the SMS (text) and email portions of UW Alert were tested during the Great ShakeOut. This means that we were able to reach a portion of the UW Community who may have not heard about the Great ShakeOut from other sources!

From all of us here at UW Emergency Management, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to practice your response to ground movement. Your safety during an earthquake is our #1 priority!