Get ready for the ShakeOut, says county

Would area residents survive a major earthquake? They would greatly improve their chances of escaping serious injury or death by taking the safest action: Drop, Cover and Hold On, say county experts.

San Diego County residents have two more weeks to join the nearly eight million Californians, including more than 646,000 people in San Diego County, who have already signed up for the Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill, which will take place at 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20.

“We are challenging our residents, community and business leaders to register for the ShakeOut drill and make earthquake preparedness part of their emergency plan,” said Chairman Bill Horn, Board of Supervisors. “The Great California ShakeOut drill starts the community thinking about personal preparedness and workplace safety.”

Last year, 7.9 million people participated in the annual statewide drill. In San Diego County, 691,735 people were part of the drill.

“We encourage people to hold an earthquake drill for ShakeOut and at other times during the year because in a real emergency, people usually react on instinct and do what they have practiced,” said Herman Reddick, interim director of the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services.

Individuals, families, schools, businesses, government agencies and organizations can register for the Great California ShakeOut at www.shakeout.org.

“The Great California ShakeOut is the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. This year, we are closing in on last year’s record of 7.9 million participants,” said Mark Benthien of the Southern California Earthquake Center. “We want to remind San Diegans that even if they participated last year, they need to re-register this year as an individual or organization in order to be counted.”

Information about disaster preparedness, including earthquake information, is available from the Office of Emergency Services at www.ReadySanDiego.org.