More than 6.1 million Californians will practice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" through ShakeOut this Thursday, October 15

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a year of record-breaking wildfires, extreme weather, and a pandemic, more than 6.1 million Californians are registered to participate in this Thursday's (10/15) Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill, also known as International ShakeOut Day. Participants will practice "Drop, Cover, and Hold On," the protocol recommended by earthquake safety experts as essential for avoiding injury and even death. More than 27.7 million people across the United States and in more than 60 other countries will hold their own earthquake drills too in 2020 as part of the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills movement.

ShakeOut provides the opportunity to increase individual and community resilience. There is still time to join ShakeOut this year: register to participate on any day that works for you at ShakeOut.org. Most take action on International ShakeOut Day each third Thursday of October, this year being October 15. For the COVID-19 pandemic, many considerations for ShakeOut registrants have been developed to ensure safe and effective drills: ShakeOut.org/covid-19. These include whether or not a drill can be held through video conferencing, how local health and safety guidelines will be followed, and if a different day or multiple days are best for people to participate.

"Damaging earthquakes can strike at any time, and the Great California ShakeOut drill is an important reminder of what we need to do in order to survive and recover. Earthquakes are a reality, but they don't have to be devastating; strengthen your home now and get prepared," said Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority. "With our healthcare system already stressed by COVID-19, we all need to take steps to keep ourselves safe when the ground shakes."

KEY SHAKEOUT EVENTS:

Earthquake Warning California is coordinating a statewide test to coincide for the first time with ShakeOut on October 15. People who have downloaded the MyShake app to their phone will receive a TEST warning around 10:15 AM PT with guidance to Drop, Cover, and Hold On! Learn more at myshake.berkeley.edu/Test. For general information about Earthquake Warning California, see earthquake.ca.gov.

ShakeOut participants in the Western United States are also encouraged to join a Facebook Live event on 10/15 from 8:45 AM PT to 10:20 AM PT, known as "The Great Online ShakeOut." This online, live broadcast will feature a drill for everyone to participate in, presentations from earthquake experts representing government, emergency management, and science, key videos and other resources, and a Q&A. Anyone can join this event, even without a Facebook account, just by visiting Facebook.com/greatshakeout/live anytime between 8:45 AM PT and 10:20 AM PT.

KEY MEDIA RESOURCES:

ShakeOut.org/media ? guidance for promoting and reporting on ShakeOut, lists of ShakeOut media venues, recent releases and contacts

ShakeOut.org/messaging ? B-Roll, still graphics, and animated GIFs to aid reporting on general preparedness and ShakeOut

CONTACT:

Jason Ballmann
Southern California Earthquake Center
Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills
213.740.1560
[email protected]

ShakeOut.org, is managed by the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) at the University of Southern California, with funding from the National Science Foundation, United States Geological Survey, and Federal Emergency Management Agency

SOURCE Earthquake Country Alliance