Millions of people in government offices, businesses and schools throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties stopped everything for a minute Thursday to “drop, cover and hold on” during a statewide earthquake preparedness drill, now in its 15th year.
The Great California ShakeOut of 2023 officially occurred at 10:19 a.m. Thursday.
“Everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves during an earthquake — at work, at school, at home, or even while traveling,” according to a statement posted to ShakeOut.org. “Great ShakeOut earthquake drills are a once-a-year chance for everyone to practice `drop, cover, and hold on’ and learn other earthquake safety tips.”
According to the ShakeOut website, roughly 10 million Californians registered to participate in the drill. During last year’s event, about 9.5 million statewide registered to take part.
The exercises began in 2008.
In Los Angeles County, more than 3.3 million people registered for the drill, while more than 866,000 were registered in Orange County.
Municipalities whose local government employees participated included Arcadia, Glendale, Glendora, Culver City, Cudahy, Inglewood, Lakewood, Diamond Bar, Covina, Burbank, Azusa, Paramount, West Hollywood, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Torrance and the city and county of Los Angeles.
California State University campuses took part, along with Los Angeles Community College District campuses, Loyola Marymount University, USC, UCLA and other universities.
Most kindergarten through 12th grade school districts countywide, along with private and charter schools, had 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 believe 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.
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.