At 10:16 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, 2025, millions of people will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the Great ShakeOut, the world's largest earthquake drill!  Major earthquakes may happen anywhere you live, work, or travel. The ShakeOut is the time to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake and to learn how to be prepared. The goal is to prevent a major earthquake from becoming a catastrophe for you and the UCR community.   

How is our campus preparing for an earthquake? 

“Drop, Cover, and Hold On” Drill: Everyone is encouraged to participate where you are at. Simply drop, cover and hold on for 1 minute at 10:16am.  Why is a drill important? To respond quickly you must practice often. You may only have seconds to protect yourself in an earthquake before strong shaking knocks you down, or something falls on you.   

Emergency Communication Test: The Office of Emergency Management and UCPD will be testing all campus notification systems in a coordinated drill. This means you will receive at least one (if not many) emergency communications about the drill, including; Emergency Notification System texts, UCR Safe App notifications, emails, and voicemails.  

Evacuation Drills: The Fire & Life Safety team will be conducting evacuation drills at specific locations on campus. This is a good time to refresh your knowledge of where your nearest Emergency Assembly Area is located. 

Damage Assessment Drills: The Office of Emergency Management will be conducting a damage assessment drill with campus safety partners. During this time, you may notice teams of staff on campus conducting surveys for the drill.  

For more information about the Shake Out, please visit: https://emergency.ucr.edu/earthquake  & Download UCR Safe to stay connected. 

Learn how to prepare for an earthquake: https://www.earthquakecountry.org/sevensteps/