Millions Across California To Stop & Drop For The Great ShakeOut

LOS ANGELES, CA — On Thursday morning, millions of people across California will stop and drop. It’s all part of the 12th annual Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill in preparation for the Big One.

In California, an epicenter of earthquake country, more than 10 million people have signed up to “drop, cover, and hold on” for 1 minute starting at 10:17 a.m. Thursday. For many, the drill takes on renewed meaning this year after a magnitude 7.1 quake, one of the largest temblors to hit California in decades, rattled the small town of Ridgecrest. Hundreds of aftershocks would follow, and Californians were largely shaken out of a false sense of security brought on by the two-decade lull in large quakes.

"Everyone, everywhere should know how to protect themselves in an earthquake," Mark Benthien, Global ShakeOut coordinator at the Southern California Earthquake Center has said. "We also encourage everyone to prepare to survive and recover by following the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety."

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Students statewide, city and state employees and businesses throughout California will participate in this year’s shakeout. In the Bay area, 1.5 million people will stop and drop along with 3.3 million in Los Angeles, 1 million each in Orange and San Diego counties, and another 1.5 million in the Inland Empire.

Over the years, understanding of how to stay safe in a major earthquake has evolved.
Today, experts advise you to drop to the ground, hunch over and cover your neck while getting beneath a sturdy desk or table of there is one within reach. If you are outdoors during a quake, find a clear spot out of range of trees, buildings and power lines before dropping and covering. Motorists should remain seated and belted into place until the shaking stops. Once it’s over, drivers should proceed cautiously over bridges or ramps that may have been damaged in the quake.

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"Numerous earthquake faults crisscross Southern California and no one within the area resides more than 10 miles from an active fault," according to ShakeOut.org. "In addition to damage caused directly by ground shaking and related ground failure, other hazards such as fires can easily start during and shortly after an earthquake."

According to the USGS, some 2,000 people would die, tens of thousands would be injured and more than $200 billion in damage would result from a magnitude-7.8 or larger quake, 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, officials say. 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.

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US Geological Survey's Earthquake Facts

• The largest recorded earthquake in the United States was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska on Good Friday, March 28, 1964 UTC.
• The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 (Mw) in Chile on May 22, 1960.
• The average rate of motion across the San Andreas Fault Zone during the past 3 million years is 56 mm/yr (2 in/yr). This is about the same rate at which your fingernails grow. Assuming this rate continues, scientists project that Los Angeles and San Francisco will be adjacent to one another in approximately 15 million years.
• It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.
• It is thought that more damage was done by the resulting fire after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake than by the earthquake itself.
• A seiche (pronounced SAYSH) is the term for the sloshing that happens in the swimming pools of Californians during and after an earthquake.
• Each year the Southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes. Most of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15-20 are greater than magnitude 4.0. If there is a large earthquake, however, the aftershock sequence will produce many more earthquakes of all magnitudes for many months.
• As far as we know, there is no such thing as "earthquake weather." Statistically, there is an equal distribution of earthquakes in cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather, etc.

Patch Staffers Ashley Ludwig and Paige Austin contributed to this report.