Earthquake drill meets technical glitch; CSUMB says that’s what practices are for

It was a busy morning for emergency responders at California State University, Monterey Bay.

There was no emergency, but the school treated its earthquake drill like one.

“Just heard we have a minor earthquake in California this morning and we had a few minor ones last week. So it’s not if it happens, it’s probably when we have an earthquake. We need to be prepared,” campus emergency manager Ken Folsom said.

The Great ShakeOut started in California, and now people all over the country are taking part in this drill on the second Thursday of every October, but this year, things were a little shakier at CSUMB.

While dozens evacuated to the quad, some said they didn’t get the memo

“I was studying for an exam actually and I was anticipating that moment because I get really scared with those alarms that are going to happen but there was actually no alarm going off,” sophomore Ulises Duenaz said.

The cellphone alert that was supposed to go out before the drill didn’t arrive until after. But emergency responders said that’s why practices like these are held.

“It’s better to find the things that go wrong before we have an actual event so we can make changes and things like that,” Folsom said.

With 22 fault lines running through Monterey County, those who participated in Thursday’s drill say more people should take it seriously.

“Not that many students came out, or the professors never had the students come out with them is kind of sad to see,” junior Jamaica Tutum said.

“In fact, I’m a little sad that it was only once a year. I think it should be a couple of times a year just to keep that skill set,” CSUMB staff member Tony Christopher said.

The school said it will now be tackling the technical issues next week.