9 Million Californians to Partake in Earthquake Drill

LOS ANGELES—Millions of people in government offices, businesses, and schools throughout Los Angeles County this week will stop everything for a minute to “drop, cover, and hold on” during a statewide earthquake preparedness drill, now in its 14th year.

The Great California ShakeOut of 2022 is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. Oct. 20.

“What we do to prepare now, before this big earthquake, will determine how well we can survive and recover,” according to a statement posted on ShakeOut.org. “Great ShakeOut Earthquake drills are annual opportunities to learn and practice earthquake safety with millions of people.”

The ShakeOut website indicated that 9.2 million Californians are slated to participate in the drill. During last year’s event, about 7.6 million statewide registered to take part.

The first drill was held in 2008.

In Los Angeles County, more than 3.2 million people have registered for this week’s drill.

Municipalities whose local government employees will be involved include Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pasadena, Burbank, and Santa Clarita.

Multiple Los Angeles city and county agencies are also signed up, including Metrolink and Metro, the Los Angeles police and fire departments, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Public Libraries, and the city departments of Recreation and Parks, Housing, Aging, and General Services.

Most Los Angeles area community colleges and universities will be participating including the Los Angeles Community College District, Santa Monica College, Pasadena City College, UCLA, and USC.

A majority of the county’s kindergarten through 12th-grade school districts, along with private and charter schools, will have students and staff participating.

According to ShakeOut.org, the objective is to emphasize precautions during a 7.8-magnitude or larger quake along the southernmost portion of the San Andreas fault.

Officials say that 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. The cataclysm would have 50 times the intensity of the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake.

Hundreds of aftershocks would ensue—a few of them nearly as big as the original quake, according to the USGS.

The drill in 2019 came just over three months after the early July quakes that struck Ridgecrest. The 6.4- and 7.1-magnitude shakers caused significant damage to roads and structures in the hamlet, which lies just south of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

Californians should be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours following a 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, according to local and state officials.

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

Follow