Spartans participate in ‘ShakeOut’ drill

Students at La Cañada High School joined students from around the district and in schools across the state during Thursday morning’s Great California ShakeOut earthquake preparedness event.

LCHS students practiced the recommended “drop, cover, and hold on” earthquake survival technique before filing out to the school’s football field in a rehearsal of a real-life earthquake evacuation.

The ShakeOut, which took place at 10:20 a.m., had over 8.2 million participants state-wide according to information released by organizers, and was intended to increase earthquake preparedness across the state. A 2008 study by the Southern California Earthquake Center which showed a 99% likelihood of an earthquake the size of the 1994 Northridge earthquake striking California in the next 30 years was cited as one of the motivations for the event.

The ShakeOut event was started as the Great Southern California ShakeOut in 2008, before being expanded statewide in 2009. Next year’s ShakeOut will be held on October 18.

-- Daniel Siegal, Times Community News