Record 7.7M Expected to Participate in Calif. Earthquake Drill

More than 7.7 million people are expected to shake, drop, cover and hold on in the country’s largest earthquake drill in history.

The Great California ShakeOut is an earthquake drill in which participants practice how to protect themselves from falling objects in an earthquake.

In addition, the ShakeOut drill encourages everyone to get prepared at work, school and home. All Californians are encouraged to prepare for earthquakes in advance by having a family plan, setting aside emergency supplies to last for several days and considering earthquake insurance to secure your property and finances.

Examples of major events drills and other activities at:

• Burbank: Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and Providence High School with California Emergency Management Secretary Matt Bettenhausen and delegations from Chile and Turkey
• San Jose: The Tech Museum with 400 schoolchildren and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner
• Fullerton: Campus-wide drill and other preparedness events at Cal State Fullerton
• Redlands: San Bernardino County Museum with hundreds of children and State Geologist John Parrish
• San Francisco: Drill/Exercise at San Francisco State University

Additionally, this year communities in Arizona and Nevada have agreed to build awareness and practice how to respond to an earthquake.

This event is sponsored by the Earthquake Country Alliance, which is made up of the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), the American Red Cross (ARC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the California Department of Education, State Farm and many others.

Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters