2019 Great California ShakeOut Drill
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) wants to help more Californians prepare to survive and recover from a damaging earthquake during the annual Great California ShakeOut drill.
Last year, more than 10 million Californians participated in this annual earthquake drill, and more than 63 million people participated in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drills worldwide.
TheShakeOut drill this year will occur on October 17 at 10:17 am, which will be the same day as the 30th anniversary of the damaging magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. That earthquake caused 63 deaths and displaced thousands of residents from their homes.
Register to participate in ShakeOut at EarthquakeAuthority.com/ShakeOut.
KNOW YOUR RISK:
•Most Californians live within 30 miles of an active fault.
•The Southern San Andreas, Raymond, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Newport-Inglewood, San Jacinto and Elsinore faults are most notable. In 2015, scientists said there was a 75-percent chance that one or more magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes would strike Southern California between 2014 and 2043. A magnitude 7.1 quake struck near Ridgecrest, in Southern California, in 2019.
•Scientists still are discovering new faults. Some of the world’s most devastating earthquakes have occurred on previously unknown faults.
PREPARE
•Secure your space. Identify hazards and secure movable items.
•Plan to be safe. Create a disaster plan and decide how you will communicate in an emergency.
•Organize disaster supplies. Place emergency kits in convenient locations.
•Minimize financial hardship. Collect important documents, retrofit your older house if built before 1980 and purchase earthquake insurance.
SURVIVE
•Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
•Know how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” when the ground shakes. In most situations, you will reduce your chance of injury if you:
•DROP onto your hands and knees where you are and, if possible, crawl under a table or sturdy desk or by an interior wall (away from windows).
•COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand; bend over to protect vital organs.
•HOLD ON to a table leg with your other hand until shaking stops.