By Donna Barr, West End North Correspondent

“Water! Water! Water!”

Or so yelled Harrison Ford in “Temple of Doom,” as he galloped to escape drowning. That was just a joke, for entertainment, but on the coasts of the Olympic Peninsula, preparation for powerful walls of devouring water is deadly serious.

At 10:15 a.m. Oct. 17, the students of Clallam Bay school were involved in an earthquake drill, learning to drop, cover and hold on.

So they were prepared when the tsunami-warning alert howled on, but not with its usual Big Ben bing-bong, that didn’t even frighten the crows.

This time the full emergency siren blasted across Clallam Bay, interrupted here and there by a voice announcing firmly, “This is a test. This is only a test.”

As though following a giant fire drill, every child and teacher in Clallam Bay School formed up quickly into lines in the school parking lot and walked purposefully south on the sidewalk by Highway 112.

They gathered safely in the parking lot of Strait Shots Espresso and Straitview Self Storage. They were guarded by Sheriff’s deputy Joe Pursely, and members of the Clallam Bay District 5 Fire Department.

Senior project coordinator Diana Leiza congratulated the students: “You guys, that was super; 10 minutes from the time the siren went off!”

Actually, the drill was accomplished in just 9:53 minutes, beating a former record by four minutes. Most students and staff heard the siren, who quickly informed those few who didn’t.

Tsunami and earthquake drills are the senior project for the Clallam Bay School.

Three seniors — Travis James-Hunter, Calvin Ritter and Felix Ojeda — organized the drill as part of the Great Washington Shake-Out. They were assisted by fellow seniors Cole Rudge, Evan Messinger and Joe Maneval and juniors Kelly Gregory and Casey Randall. Student photographers Jeddie Herndon and Sami Metcalf recorded the event.

The Great Washington Shake-Out is a project that covers earthquake safety and tsunami readiness. Orange-and-blue fliers had been distributed in the area, titled, “Chill — it’s only a drill.” The project offers more information at ShakeOut.org/washington.

The drills were set up and safety meetings organized by the Clallam District 5 Fire Department, with the assistance of the Sheriff’s Office.

After walking back to the school with all the students after the drill, the seniors and their helpers repaired to their classroom, where they discussed the morning’s activity.

“People weren’t lollygagging,” said Ritter, pleased with the results of the drill and the behavior of the students. “The little ones probably were probably the best.”

Tsunamis flow wherever they find an opening or are concentrated by a channel.

The ocean quake of 1700 — recorded in Japanese government records — hit the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula over the Hobuck Beach and fire-hosed down the comparatively narrow, flat, unforested and unbuffered Wyaatch River valley, hitting Neah Bay full force from behind.