Great Shake Out, the program that helps prevent and spread the actions that Californians should take to save their lives in the event of an earthquake
by Xochitl TC
Sonya Harris, senior advisor for Listos California, began her participation by thanking the collaboration of all the teams present at the press conference, recognizing the great work of dissemination that they do from their field of action to prevent a catastrophe in the event of an earthquake in California.
For her part, the communications director of CalOES, Amy Palmer, began her participation by recognizing the great work of her predecessor, Bryan Ferguson, who tirelessly supported the construction of an emergency communications platform and mentioned that “we need to spread the right message in the right places” to continue with the same scheme to save lives in the event of any disaster.
Although there is extensive information about fires, hurricanes and heat waves, Palmer said, “We do not want earthquakes to be forgotten,” and added, “we will put them to an important test next week with a drill,” and one of the main objectives is to ensure that the population has the correct information in time.
35 years after the Loma Prieta earthquake
Although “earthquakes continue to be unpredictable, beyond scientific advances and any scientist,” he said that there is a 60 percent probability that there will be an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale in Los Angeles and a 72 percent probability that one of the same magnitude will occur in the Bay Area in San Francisco.
On October 17, 1989, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale shook Loma Prieta, located 56 miles from San Francisco, an event that left 63 dead and more than 3,500 injured. 35 years later, a drill will be held on October 17 at 10:17 in the morning where the 7 steps to follow in case an earthquake of that intensity occurs again will be communicated.
Remembering Loma Prieta, there are 7 steps for safety in the event of an earthquake of that intensity
Loma Prieta left great lessons for Educate the population about prevention and for that reason, they shared an emergency plan that can save the lives of the population, which consists of 3 stages: preparation, survival and recovery.
In the preparation stage, they recommend that the population locate a safe space, get to safety and organize emergency objects such as important documents (personal and property insurance). The second stage gave the title to the press conference “drop, cover and hold on”, urging society that it is important to get to a safe place, cover themselves, wait and preserve life by evacuating a space that puts their integrity at risk and also, helping those who are injured.
“We have had several earthquakes this year in California where our state sensor system is giving people seconds of advantage before an earthquake begins,” said Palmer, highlighting that it is a new measure that helps the population have time to react at the time of an earthquake, since the alarm sounds on the cell phone 20 seconds before an earthquake begins.
Join us in the world’s largest earthquake drill
Great California Shakeout Tour, is a program that aims to provide preparedness information for the population and is a statewide tour because they seek to bring the message to all regions of the state.
“We are going to have an earthquake simulator to provide a real experience to raise awareness among the population about why they need to adopt preventive measures,” said José Lara, head of the seismic hazards department of the emergency services of the Governor’s office.
The tours will begin at the University of San Diego, then in Los Angeles and later in Sacramento, “we seek to emphasize that they must experience the real movement of the earthquake to understand the importance of how we should act, by dropping to the ground, covering themselves and waiting.”
José Lara also highlighted that they want young people to experience and help spread the message of preparation and for that reason, they will take the drill to the University of California at the San Diego and Sacramento campuses.
Take action in the event of an earthquake from shakeout.org
On the shakeout.org site you can join to participate and although there are more than 9 thousand people who have already joined to practice this drill, they seek to reach more than 9 million people to transmit the message of “drop, cover and hold on.”
“I came here when I was 7 years old and my region of Mexico does not have this advanced technology that helps save lives,” “I know that I have personal experience in this, I have trained my family with this and many in Mexico do the opposite of that, so the best thing we can do in California is to get on the ground, cover ourselves and hold on.”
My shake app
Since 2019, it has become easier to send alerts to millions of Californians, as around 425 thousand people have been notified 20 seconds before an earthquake starts. It is important that people check their cell phones and turn on their wireless alerts so that they can receive all types of warnings.
How can you join?
You can join the conversation through your social networks this October 17, creating a message alluding to the drill; also, you can create a mini simulation and download all the activities that involve the Shakeout California campaign.
Go to ShakeOut.org and you can join all the actions for the month of October for free. Participants invite the general population to help spread the message of prevention and save lives in the event of an earthquake.
