> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Preparing for disaster - URL: https://www.smdp.com/preparing-for-disaster/ - Published: 2007-12-01T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T01:19:30.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import *SMMUSD officials ready plans to deal with the unexpected* (sub) By Melody Hanatani Daily Press Staff Writer SMMUSD HDQTRS — If a tsunami ever hit Santa Monica or Malibu, the school district has a plan in place to combat menacing waves. Whether it’s a tsunami, wildfire, flood or earthquake, each school in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is equipped with a School Safety Plan that outlines procedures for administrators and faculty to follow if disaster ever struck before the final bell. While the Canyon Fire that scorched Malibu last month put one of the public schools in the district under threat of extinction, ultimately damaging several rooms, many administrators and parents breathed a sigh of relief that classes weren’t in session at the time, resulting in no injuries. A natural disaster has not occurred during school hours in recent history, but the district still takes precautions to ensure school administrators are prepared, updating the comprehensive School Safety Plan every year. 4D3,“Each school has a plan and it’s shared with the board, shared with the community partners and the police, so if they had to respond to an emergency, they would know what the procedures were,” said Laurel Schmidt, director of pupil services for the SMMUSD. The plan delegates responsibilities among administrators, splitting up duties that include contacting the authorities, the district administration and the media. The SSP also outlines evacuation procedures for each building within a school campus. Certain portions of the SSP are confidential, including the names and phone numbers of administrators that handle certain duties and evacuation routes. The intent is to keep everyone safe in certain situations, like a school shooting, keeping the whereabouts of students and teachers anonymous to the perpetrator. The comprehensive plan includes procedures to follow in emergencies ranging from an airplane crash near campus to toxic waste spills to lockdowns and to earthquakes. For example, if a chemical spill occurred at Santa Monica High School, the SSP calls for the teachers to keep the students inside and close all the windows. The high school’s SSP is accompanied by a hygiene plan for cleaning up certain chemicals. In the event of an earthquake, the SSP specifies different procedures based on where the students are located — if students are inside of a bus, the bus driver is ordered to stop at a safe location away from utility lines, students in classrooms should duck underneath their desks while anyone standing outside should steer clear of any utility lines and buildings. The plan event accounts for the rare incidents of tsunamis, added after the tsunami devastation in Southeast Asia in 2004\. In the event of a tsunami, the LA County lifeguards will usually make notifications for the public, the SPP states. The protocol for tsunami response is not school specific. Though procedures are outlined in the SSP, the actual response will depend on the nature and intensity of the situation. “I feel if our students were ever forced to stay on campus, because that’s where they were the safest, we’re pretty well equipped for the short term,” said school board President Kathy Wisnicki. > “I feel if our students were ever forced to stay on campus, because that’s where they were the safest, we’re pretty well equipped for the short term,” — said school board President Kathy Wisnicki The SSP also includes goals for certain schools that have experienced issues in the past several years. A natural disaster has not occurred during school business hours in recent history, though schools have gone under lockdown several times in the past few years, according to Deputy Superintendent Tim Walker. One of the worst natural disasters to hit the school district in the last few years is the recent Malibu wildfire last month, which shut down Webster Elementary School for a week. While Malibu Middle/High School, Juan Cabrillo Elementary and Point Dume Marine Science School were left unscathed, Webster Elementary sustained damages to several classrooms and lost an emergency shed. The fire broke out on a Sunday morning and district leaders were in constant contact with school principals and city officials to assess whether the fire was posing an imminent threat to any of the schools. Several of the schools were shut down for a few days because of a lack of access to the Pacific Coast Highway. Jump hedline: Schools well-equipped to handle disasters. Suggested pullquote: “I feel if our students were ever forced to stay on campus because that’s where they were the safest, we’re pretty well equipped for the short-term.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/120107-02_orig_013.jpg) SCENE OF DISASTER: Workers tend to the fire-damaged trees at the Webster Elementary School campus in Malibu last month after wildfires wreaked havoc in the arid region. (Photo: Photo courtesy) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/120107-02_orig_014.jpg) SCENE OF DISASTER: Workers tend to the fire-damaged trees at the Webster Elementary School campus in Malibu last month after wildfires wreaked havoc in the arid region. (Photo: Photo courtesy) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 1, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)