October 17, 2024 - SACRAMENTO – The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is encouraging all Californians to take part in the largest earthquake preparedness drill in the world happening Thursday at 10:17 a.m. PDT.
Governor Gavin Newsom marked the occasion in a letter urging all Californians to take part in the drill.
“All of us can take action today to become better prepared for when an earthquake strikes. I urge all Californians to learn more about earthquake safety and join this year’s drill,” Governor Newsom said.
Nancy Ward, Director of the California Office of Emergency Services, said the investments being made in the state’s Earthquake Early Warning system are paying off.
“Knowing what to do when earthquake shaking starts can save your life,” Ward said. “It’s important people drop, cover and hold on because it can protect them during a major earthquake.”
In recent earthquakes that rattled Southern California, alerts from the MyShake App and early earthquake warning system arrived on mobile phones up to 35 seconds before shaking started.
“The speed with which these alerts are going to cell phones is a game changer,” Ward said. “It gives people time to act before the shaking starts.”
Earthquakes can happen anytime and anywhere. Over the next 30 years, the state has a more than 99 percent chance of experiencing a magnitude 6.7 earthquake.
The “Great ShakeOut Day” drill will take part on the 35th anniversary Loma Prieta earthquake, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that occurred on October 17, 1989. The earthquake resulted in 63 deaths, thousands injured and displaced, and caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Cal OES continues to lead efforts to equip Californians with earthquake preparedness resources like the first-in-the nation earthquake early warning system, which provides everyone with extra seconds to take protective actions before shaking occurs through the free MyShake App.
Earlier this week, October 14-16, Cal OES hosted a statewide tour with an earthquake simulator known as the Great California ShakeOut Tour, which encouraged Californians to be earthquake prepared.
For more information, visit earthquake.ca.gov or www.Shakeout.org/California.
Source: Cal OES
