The Great California October Shake Out Drill Getting Head Start

The Poway Neighborhood Emergency Corps (PNEC) is sponsoring a local head start on the October state-wide preparedness program for earthquakes. The event will be at 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 1, at 14211 Twin Peaks Road.

The principle speaker will be Bennet Cummings, senior emergency services coordinator for the County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services. The presentation will largely focus on earthquake preparedness, but will also feature how to prepare for other hazards to our community.

October is the month of “The Great California Shake Out Drill”. Millions of people worldwide will practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” at 10:15 a.m. on October 15. This annual exercise began in California in 2008 and now has 10 million statewide residents participating. It began to spread worldwide almost immediately and now numbers 23 million globally. PNEC organizers stressed that “everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves in an earthquake.”

The nonprofit PNEC works to complement the City of Poway Emergency Operations Plan through a grass roots communication network of neighbors.