Great California Shake Out drill set for Thursday morning

You can best minimize the risks posed by large, damaging earthquakes by remembering to “Drop, Cover and Hold On” in place. It starts at 10:15 a.m. when participants around the world will duck and cover simultaneously. The goal of this event is not to scare people, but to prepare them. In other words, get someplace low, find cover beneath a desk or table and hold onto something sturdy for the average length of a tremor which is about one minute.

While earthquakes are no-notice events, there are preventive measures to secure homes and offices ahead of time, such as fastening down loose objects that would fall, and relocating items that have the potential to fall away from beds and seating areas.

According to the ShakeOutBC website, over 40.8 million people worldwide have already signed up for the global drill, with over 750,000 in BC alone. One of the biggest partners this year is the DOE.

This is the fourth year for Washington State to participate in the Great ShakeOut initiative and we plan to make use of social media to the fullest extent possible. “The only thing we can do is really push preparedness”, said Jim Wilkinson, executive director of the Central United States quake Consortium, which is helping coordinate drills. People and organizations can sign up to participate at www.shakeout.org/washington.

For additional information on preparing for, responding to and recovering from an natural disaster, read “Arizona is quake Country”, a 44-page online publication that includes a detailed seven-step natural disaster safety guide. Local, state and federal emergency management partners based in Hawaii will participate by conducting a communications exercise, testing internal tools such as the Hawaii Warning System.

Enroll today in the Arizona ShakeOut for a safer Arizona tomorrow.