Great ShakeOut 2023 on October 19th

The safety of students, staff, and faculty is a key priority of UW Tacoma, and earthquakes are one of our region’s significant safety threats. Many of our out-of-state and international students may have never experienced an earthquake and have had little to no earthquake preparedness education. Some of us may know what to do but have not practiced how to protect ourselves since we were children.

It is expected that all students and employees will participate in this year’s Great Washington ShakeOut earthquake drill on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m., wherever they may be at that time.

We have put together several curated resources for faculty, including:

• A “day-of” classroom instructional guide
• Campus evacuation map with assembly points
• handout and poster

While we will release marketing materials over the next few weeks, we also encourage faculty to spark discussion within the classroom now. Many students will be familiar with drill protocols from their K-12 experiences, while others may have many questions and need more time to explore resources.

If you will be teaching at the time of the drill, we especially encourage you to include a few minutes of discussion with students afterwards.

Your role in our students’ education is critical and is often carried beyond the classroom walls. We appreciate your collaboration and dedication to this campus and its mission.

Please reach out to uwtsafe@uw.edu with any questions.