An Emergency Alert lit up phones across campus around 9:30 a.m. this morning, just one day before the Great ShakeOut practice alert is scheduled to be activated, causing confusion and skepticism of its validity.
“The timing is bizarre,” said Bobby King, director of communications for the SFSU President’s Office. “A [test] alert wouldn’t give a location like that. The one tomorrow will say ‘test’.”
The United States Geological Survey reported a 4.1 magnitude earthquake near Isleton, CA, in Sacramento County at 9:29 a.m. Wednesday morning.
“Everybody should download the MyShake app. That’s the one where the alert today came from,” King said.
The annual drill is set to take place on Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m.
SF State’s Office of Emergency Services leads SFSU’s emergency response. They consult with the president and a policy group that makes decisions on the operations of the school moving forward. The structure of this team is a standardized structure set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“An earthquake that actually affected campus would require much larger activation,” King said.
In the event of an actual emergency, a mass notification system would send out an email, text, and phone call to the SFSU community.
King recommends all students have their emergency contact updated here.
Editor’s Note: A quote about the alert was edited for clarification.
