California holds a statewide earthquake preparedness drill every year. Millions join in, including Cerritos High School. This year’s Great Shakeout was held at 10:17am on October 17, 2024 and it went quite smoothly. 

Before the drill we all watched an awareness video that included reminders to wear shoes to avoid stepping on debris and glass. After the video, instructions had us stop, drop and cover leading to being under the desk. Evacuation followed where we all made it to the black top in 11 minutes. That’s quite impressive when considering the staff, faculty, and students together are over 2100 people. Senior, Gabriella Colombo, said “It’s important that we have it because we need to know how to keep ourselves safe in these situations.” 

Many students, expecting this to be a far longer evacuation drill, brought cards and games to get through the time. Some even brought umbrellas and picnic supplies. It was almost a pity that we were so efficient and we could not spend more time bonding with friends.

AP of School Culture and co administrator of this drill, Dr. Thomas Flores said, “Living in California, we are part of what’s called the ring of fire. This is where earthquakes are quite common, so it’s pretty important that we be prepared in case of an earthquake happening.” The other AP who was co administrator of this drill, Jessica Monserratti congratulated everyone on a great job. In an email she sent out to the staff she let them all know a more comprehensive drill will be planned for the future. This will include triage and search and rescue procedures practice.