Earthquakes are No Quaking Matter

 The Samohi has chosen to republish this article as a reminder of the 20 anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake.Sam Reamer is the Youth Community Outreach Officer for the Santa Monica American Red Cross. He has been trained in natural disaster awareness and safety.Perhaps technology has given us a superiority complex towards nature, or maybe we’re just too young to realize the dangers, but no matter the reason, many people treat earthquake preparation as a time-wasting joke. Throughout my years at Samo, I’ve noticed that earthquake drills seem to be one of the most ineffective tools of preparation I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve taken online driving school.The typical drill seems to begin with an alarm over the loudspeaker, followed by a few students going under their desks while the rest pack up their bags or finish up their school work. Eventually the rest lazily get under their desks, usually with their heads sticking out to avoid the mosaic of neon-colored fossils of gum. Finally, after several minutes, the teacher tells us to rise from our desks and head out to the field, where we then sit, on usually wet grass, and socialize.Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but how exactly is that supposed to prepare someone for any natural disaster greater than a light drizzle? Since the point is to prepare students for a major earthquake, why do we even conduct these drills if most people don’t take them seriously? Is it because the school feels the need to waste already limited classroom time? No, it is because according to the Red Cross there is a 99.7 percent chance of an earthquake occurring in California in the next 20 years. With such inevitability, earthquakes deserve a certain level of sobriety.Another frightening aspect about our school’s earthquake drills is that many students think that it is logical to leave Samo after an earthquake strikes. However, according to I-House Principal Renée Semik, schools are almost always used as emergency centers and distributors of aid during a natural disaster.Most importantly, students need to know how to keep themselves safe during the actual earthquake. Throughout my time giving earthquake safety presentations, I’ve encountered many myths and incorrect information that people misjudge as facts about earthquakes. For example, many people still think a doorway is a good place to be during an earthquake, and some still believe that there is only one initial shock and don’t know about aftershocks. Perhaps the school could use the time during the drill, when students are out on the wet grass, to educate them on earthquake safety at home. This would not only make earthquake drills more productive but also help proliferate potentially life saving information.In order to improve everyone’s chances of surviving an earthquake, students, teachers and administrators need to take the drills seriously.  Administrators and teachers need to do their part and make a sincere push to inform the student body about where they are supposed to meet after an earthquake. This means telling students where to go at all times during the school day, not just during the period they have the drill. Students also need to follow their teacher’s instructions during a drill. That doesn’t mean acting out the drill with Shakespearean believability, but instead quickly getting under their desks in the proper position, which means that their heads and necks are completely covered by their desks and that they are grasping the legs of their desks. Yes, this may seem simple, but it’s best to have it committed to muscle memory for when there’s an earthquake. I ask all of you to sincerely go about these drills, and remember that they are an unfortunate reality that comes with living in Santa Monica, a city with an average temperature in the sixties.sreamer@thesamohi.com