Campus Drills

Annual Earthquake Drill (Fall)

Each fall, CSULB participates in the "Great Shakeout" statewide earthquake drill. 

During this drill, members of our campus community are asked to identify a safe place to drop, cover, and hold on as if a major earthquake were occuring at that moment, and remain in that position for at least 60 seconds. There are no campus evacuations*, power outages, or any other simulated effects during this drill. The purpose of this drill is to practice the correct earthquake response so in an actual incident muscle memory will allow for swift action to be taken.

*Please note, some years the Great Shakeout may be combined with building evacuations. When this occurs the drill is conducted in two phases: 1) Emergency alert is issued advising of an earthquake and to Drop, Cover, and Hold On. 2) A second emergency alert is issued advising that smoke/gas has been detected due to the earthquake and that a building evacuation is required. There should be no building evacuations until prompted.

Notification:

A test of the BeachALERT Emergency Notification System (ENS) is conducted during this drill. It is vital that your contact information is always up to date in your Single-Sign-On to ensure that you receive these messages.

Learn more about the "Great Shakeout" statewide earthquake drill here.

Annual Evacuation Drill (Spring)

Each spring, CSULB conducts a campus-wide building evacuation drill.

The purpose of this drill is:

  1. To ensure a timely and safe evacuation of all campus buildings
  2. To test our BeachALERT Emergency Notification System and campus PA speaker system
  3. To test all audible fire alarms and strobe lights on campus

Once buildings are evacuated, occupants are to go to the designed Evacuation Assembly Areas (PDF) for that building or area. These locations we carefully selected with assistance from the Long Beach Fire Department. The location of a rally point does not dictate which exit occupants should take when evacuating. In an emergency situation, occupants should take the nearest exit that is clear and safe, then head to the rally point once they are outside.

Building or Department Drills

Any department/office or building on campus can request a small-scale drill for their employees. These can take several weeks to coordinate depending on the complexity of the scenario and the skills being tested. Please direct any inquiries to the campus Emergency Manager, Allyson.Joy@csulb.edu.