Great ShakeOut Cluster Activity

The Great ShakeOut is an international event that happens in October. It encourages people to practice earthquake safety and evacuation. Several Clusters participated in the event this year, including Manzanita Beach, Middle Neahkahnie, Pine Ridge and Southside.

The Southside cluster took it a step further! They recognized that theirs is a neighborhood of mostly second-homeowners and it's hard to organize an in-person drill off-season and mid-week. In addition to participating on the day of the international ShakeOut exercise, they got creative and hosted a “ShakeOut Make Up” event the following Saturday.

Cluster leader Andy Barker explained, "Our primary goal was to practice evacuation skills in the event of an earthquake. Since our Cluster is entirely in the "Inundation Zone," we must get to higher ground, with go-bags, as quickly as possible after an earthquake that could trigger a tsunami. Our secondary goal was to get to know each other better and help each other figure out ways to be better prepared for earthquakes and other emergencies."

All 16 neighbors who participated in the drills made it to their Gathering Site, with GoBags, in under 20 minutes. The groups were cheerful and they appreciated the chance to practice and learn emergency skills.

For each drill, a household hosted a follow-up debriefing session for participants in their home, with coffee and tasty treats. It was a nice opportunity to get warm and talk about neighborhood emergency issues in a cozy environment. EVCNB leadership provided some fun and useful e-prep door prizes that were distributed during a drawing at the post-drill social hour.

The Southside Cluster is one neighborhood organized under the Prepare Your Neighborhood program. To learn if you are in an organized neighborhood, or to start one in your area, contact PYN@evcnb.org.