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| OHCC LIVING | OCTOBER 2024 | 7 The California Great Shakeout Annual Drill will take place on Thurs., Oct. 17. The OHCC SERT Emergency Response Team will be participating in the Drill in order to evaluating and improve our skills. Please mark Oct. 17 on your calendar to remind you to hang out your "OK/ HELP" sign (from 7 am to 3 pm), in a place visible from the street, so our SERT ERT members may perform their practice check. I have been asked why we need to practice. Some people say we all know what we need to do during a major disaster like an earthquake. I only wish that were true! I fear that many of you might: • panic and be uncertain what you should do to be safe; • not take immediate shelter, protecting your head and neck. • go outside to see what happened. What YOU should do: • Try to stay calm and assess if you, others in your home and pets are OK; • Is there damage to your house? How severe is the damage? The inside of your house may be a total mess as objects were knocked off the shelves. This is minor damage! Look for the life-threatening damage; is your ceiling sagging and /or do you have walls that collapsed? If so and only then should you consider going outside. Statics show that you will be much safer in your house than going outside; • Check for the smell of natural gas, if you smell it, GET OUT!!! • Do you see any electrical sparks? If so, turn off your power; • Get out your emergency supplies, you may not need them immediately, but you may in the future. Earthquakes normally produce aftershocks so be ready for them; • Quickly go outside and put out your "OK/HELP" sign, and then go back inside. Practice! Practice! Practice! So when an earthquake does happen, you know what you need to do! Most important is you need to STAY SAFE! On Thurs., Oct. 17, we urge you to practice as if we have had an Earthquake. Put out your "OK/HELP "sign. Get out your emergency supplies. Review the supplies that you have, and make a list of the things you need to add or replace. In an emergency we are all in this together, and together we will get through it! Your Safety… Your Responsibility! SERT Emergency Response Team Drill By Tom Porter, President