Students take cover as Newport-Mesa Unified participates in Great California ShakeOut

When an earthquake strikes Costa Mesa’s Whittier Elementary, the students there will know to drop, take cover and wait, after participating Thursday morning in the annual Great California ShakeOut drill.

Whittier Elementary was just one of the dozens of schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District that practiced earthquake safety during the midmorning drill. It was anticipated that about 9.6 million people up and down the coast would participate this year, including more than 513,000 students enrolled in Orange County schools alone.

Skyler Govea, a first-grade student at Whittier Elementary School in Costa Mesa, takes cover under her desk during the Great California ShakeOut.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“These drills are important to provide students and staff an opportunity to practice our procedures in a calm and controlled way,” Whittier Elementary principal Randy Lempert said in a statement. “We want everyone to have confidence in knowing what to do in the event of an emergency.”

The drill was first staged in Southern California by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2008 and occurs every third Thursday of October.

“Our schools participate in a variety of safety drills throughout the school year, and our participation today in the Great California ShakeOut is just one of many ways we prepare and improve intentional safety objectives,” Supt. Wesley Smith said. “I’m proud of our students and staff who did a remarkable job in implementing and following safety practices.”

First-grade teacher Dulce Pena Wing, right, instructs students to cover their heads during the Great California ShakeOut at Whittier Elementary School Thursday morning.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.