At 10:20 a.m. Ventura County Community College District students and employees joined over 8.2 million Californians who dropped, took cover and held on during the great California ShakeOut.

VCCD Students and employees were notified of the preparedness drill through mass phone calls, emails and text messages.

The annual drill helps prepare California residents in the event of an earthquake by showing them exactly what to do in the event of a disaster.

MC students and faculty were also prompted to participate in a school wildfire drill that took place at 1 p.m.

MC Police Lt. Bob Escobedo described the drill as a smooth run.

“It was the President’s Office that decided to do the fire drill the same day as the shake out,” said Lt. Escobedo.

Students for the most part seemed curious and wondered if the alarm was a real emergency or just another drill.

Brenon Ortiz, an 18-year-old MC film/music major, was studying in the MC Fountain Hall when the drill occurred.

“I wasn’t sure if this was a part of the drill we had earlier or if this was a real fire,” Ortiz commented. “I just grabbed my books and headed for the door.”

Even with all the drills, some students stayed focused on their upcoming midterms.