More than 18 million people nationwide participating in 'Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills' in 2024 – most on October 17

By practicing “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” or "Lock, Cover, and Hold On" (if in a wheelchair), people across the U.S. & worldwide will improve earthquake safety.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills, a worldwide earthquake safety movement that began in southern California in 2008, encourages people to practice how to protect themselves during earthquakes in order to reduce injuries and even loss of life. More than 53 million people worldwide are participating in earthquake drills in 2024, including more than 18 million people holding drills in all U.S. states and territories – mostly on International ShakeOut Day which in 2024 is Thursday, October 17. Many will hold their drills at 10:17 a.m. (local time).

There is still time to be included this year, even after October 17. Register to participate on any day that works for you or your organization at www.ShakeOut.org.

ShakeOut participants practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” and other recommended earthquake safety actions for a variety of situations– if you’re near a sturdy desk or table, in a stadium or theater, along the coast, driving a car, in bed, or if you have a mobility disability (wheelchair users should "Lock, Cover, and Hold On." Guidance for each situation is provided at www.EarthquakeCountry.org/step5. Many also practice other aspects of their emergency plans.

“ShakeOut is a great way to increase community resilience at all levels,” said Mark Benthien, Global ShakeOut Coordinator and Director of Public Education and Preparedness for the Statewide California Earthquake Center based at the University of Southern California. “Earthquakes can be sudden and violent, but we can greatly reduce their effects if we take steps to prepare ourselves, those around us, and the structures we live, work, and study in.

Many participants follow the Earthquake Country Alliance’s Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety at www.EarthquakeCountry.org/sevensteps, which starts with Step 1: Secure Your Space. This means fastening furniture, TVs, cabinet door, and other items, to reduce the chance of earthquake injuries and damages caused when these items or knocked over or thrown during earthquakes.

California is the state with the greatest earthquake risk according to a study published by FEMA in April 2023. It also is the state with the most ShakeOut participants with more than 10 million expected to be registered this year. Washington State has the second-highest participation level with more than 1.3 million people involved. Utah is next with nearly 1 million people involved (though their drills were in April as Utah schools are not in session on ShakeOut day). The fourth largest participating state is Virginia – a reminder that as with the 2011 Mineral, VA earthquake, earthquakes can happen on the east coast too. See participation levels for all regions at www.ShakeOut.org.

ShakeOut provides many resources to help drill organizers plan their activities and engage their participants, which can be found at www.ShakeOut.org/resources and www.ShakeOut.org/messaging. These include drill manuals for schools, businesses, government agencies, non-profits and other sectors, posters and social media graphics, videos, and animations. Guidance for earthquake safety is also available in 16 languages at www.EarthquakeCountry.org/languages.

People in West Coast states (California, Oregon, and Washington) who have installed the MyShake app on their phone will receive a test alert at 10:17am on ShakeOut day. MyShake is one of several ways to receive the alert signal provided by the U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert^® system (www.ShakeAlert.org). Many cities, counties, school districts, and others are also testing their emergency communication alert systems. In addition, Washington State will conduct a test of coastal tsunami sirens.

As part of their support for ShakeOut, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also set up an option to receive earthquake information via text messaging, including a reminder text at 10:17am local time (in Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Alaska time zones). To opt-in, text “ShakeOut” to 43362.

Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills are coordinated by the Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC) at the University of Southern California, with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Science Foundation, and United States Geological Survey.

Mark Benthien
Statewide California Earthquake Center (USC)
+1 213-740-0323
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ShakeOut Drill Narration for playing during earthquake drills (includes earthquake sound effects)