Quake Drill Set for Thursday

Workers at government offices, businesses, schools and other organizations across California will stop everything for a minute Thursday to “drop, cover and hold on” as part of a statewide earthquake preparedness drill.

The Great California ShakeOut of 2015 is scheduled for Thursday at 10:15 a.m.

According to organizers, the exercise will provide an opportunity for workers in the public and private sectors, school kids, families and others to practice simple measures to improve safety in the event of a major quake.

In the Bay Area, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties are participating in the drill.

According to the ShakeOut website, 10.1 million Californians are slated to participate in the drill. In 2014, the figure was closer to 10.4 million. More than 1.7 million people in the Bay Area participated in the drill.

The annual drills began in 2008.

“Major earthquakes may happen where you work, live or travel in California,” according to an official ShakeOut.org statement. “This is our chance to practice how to protect ourselves and for everyone to become prepared. The goal is to prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes.”

According to ShakeOut.org, the objective is to instill awareness about what precautions to take during a 7.8-magnitude or larger quake along the southernmost area of the San Andreas fault.

Officials say such a tectonic shift could produce waves of movement for hundreds of miles over four minutes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, some 2,000 people would die, tens of thousands would be injured and more than $200 billion in damage would result from such a catastrophe, which would have 50 times the intensity of the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake.

Hundreds of aftershocks would follow, a few of them nearly as big as the original event, according to the USGS.

Californians should be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours following an earthquake or other major disaster. That includes having a first- aid kit, medications, food and enough water for each member of a household to drink one gallon per day for at least 72 hours, according to local and state officials.

Homeowners and renters should also know how to turn off the gas in their house or apartment in case of leaks.

--City News Service