ShakeOut 2010

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The 2010 Great California ShakeOut is the country's largest earthquake drill. More than 7.8 million adults and children signed up to participate in this year's ShakeOut. For the first time, the State of Nevada and the City of Yuma, Arizona joined the drill.

"The Big Shaker", the worlds largest earthquake simulator, was on hand at one of the drill sites showing people what an earthquake feels like.  However, its shaking simulation was less than the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that scientists base the annual Shakeout drill on. "The earthquakes are absolutely inevitable. It is not a matter of if, it really is a matter of when," stated Dr. Lucy Jones a Seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and Chief Scientist for the Multi-Hazards Initiative. Matt Bettehausen, Secretary for the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) stated that when a catastrophic event occurs, first responders are greatly overwhelmed and need the public to better prepare for all hazards, particularly earthquakes.

Ray Krakowski, Fire Chief with the City of Burbank Fire Department explained, "Fire departments or disaster services workers by our nature, so for us it's an escalation of an everyday routine." He goes on to say, "Just like any home, we have the same preparation activities that go on in the stations, our gas shut offs, all of our earthquake preparedness that goes on. We've been fortunate in Burbank. We've had earthquake upgrades to all of our stations. So the construction itself is about as good as you're going to get by today's earthquake standards."

Visiting firefighters from Chile were not so fortunate. On February 27th, Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, suffered an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 700 and injuring thousands. Fire Chief Marcelo Plaza with the Concepcion Fire Department in Chile claimed that his fire station completely collapsed in the devastating earthquake. Through the California-Chile partnership, 20 members of Chile's fire, police and military were able to attend the 2010 Great California ShakeOut  to see what they could learn about earthquakes. "We are constantly preparing for these kinds of emergencies. It is a little bit different because in Chile all of the firefighters are volunteers, but the job is the same," said Chief Plaza.

During the drill, participants practiced "Drop, Cover and Hold On," which means dropping to the floor, getting under a sturdy desk or table, protecting your head and holding on until the shaking stops. These actions are not the most natural thing for a person to do, as most people have the urge to run. ShakeOut is also designed to give first responders an opportunity to hone their preparedness skills in a multi-casualty drill.

"I can't tell you when the big San Andreas earthquake is going to happen. I can tell you that we average one about every 100 to 150 years on every part of the San Andreas and on the southern most part of the San Andreas, it's been almost 300 years. At some point, our luck is going to run out and we have to be ready for this earthquake," remarked Dr. Jones.

Because hospitals will be so overwhelmed when the big earthquake occurs, triage tents will be set up to treat the immediate injuries. Bettehausen claimed studies show that in Los Angeles, a 7.8 earthquake will result in 1,600 fires throughout the greater LA area. "Imagine trying to battle them without water pressure and broken highways," Bettehausen added. One essential earthquake preparedness tip is that everyone should prepare at least three days worth of food, medicine and water for themselves and their pets. Knowing two ways to get outside of the building you are in, whether it be school, work or home, is also crucial.

"The risk is real. To not prepare is to be selfish and irresponsible. Have a family communication plan. Know how you are going to get back in touch with each other. I can tell you, there is nothing more tragic than a parent going back into a burning building, thinking that they are going in to save a child who got out, and that parent didn't know that the child was out because they didn't plan where they are going to meet up outside. Plan on being a survivor, not a victim of an earthquake," expressed Matt Bettehausen.

According to Dr. Jones, all of the country, not just California, has some earthquake risk. "In fact, there was just an earthquake in Oklahoma that was felt through Arkansas and Texas," she added. Chief Krakowski claimed that a large earthquake was high on the priority of preparation lists for California and suddenly, other areas of the country began contacting California for information on how they could better prepare for earthquake emergencies.

Eight Midwest states are planning a large Shake Out drill to take place on April, 28, 2011 to commemorate the big earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. British Columbia, Canada will also be conducting a ShakeOut on January 26th of next year.

For more information, please visit www.shakeout.org/centralus and www.shakout.org/bc.

Contributors to this story:
Barbara Brooks - Video Report
John DeYoe - Camera/Editing
Renee Marquart - Text Story

Related Videos:
2009 Great California ShakeOut
2008 Great California ShakeOut - Part 1
2008 Great California ShakeOut - Part 2



Author:Barbara Brooks - FDNNTV.com