PHILADELPHIA – The fifth annual Great ShakeOut earthquake drill will take place on October 19 at 10:19 a.m. across the United States, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III office wants to encourage the Whole Community to participate and learn the simple but critical safety steps to preparing for and staying safe during an earthquake.
Earthquakes are normally thought of as a west coast hazard but they can happen anywhere, such as the 2011 earthquake in Virginia. “While damaging earthquakes may be rare in the Mid-Atlantic Region, they can occur at any time wherever we work, live, or travel within the region and beyond,” stated FEMA Region III Acting Regional Administrator Robert Welch. “The Great ShakeOut provides an excellent opportunity to learn basic safety steps to take in the event of an earthquake and only takes a minute to participate.”
To help people to prepare and to participate, FEMA Region III produced a white board video highlighting the steps to practice for the Great ShakeOut! The video may be found at https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/videos/148301 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhodtV0MPuI. Held annually, the Great ShakeOut is set for Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 10:19 a.m. During the self-led drill, participants practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” For most people, in most situations, the recommended earthquake safety action is to:
- DROP where you are, onto your hands and knees;
- COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand, as you crawl for shelter under a nearby table or desk;
- HOLD ON to your shelter with one hand until shaking stops (remain on your knees and covering your head and neck with your other arm and hand).
The Great ShakeOut is free and open-to-the-public. Participants include individuals, schools, businesses, local and state government agencies, and many other groups. To take part in the ShakeOut, register to participate at www.shakeout.org. Once registered, you’ll receive regular information on how to plan your drill and become better prepared for earthquakes and other disasters.
More than 1.3 million people will participate in this regional event, joining Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills occurring throughout the nation and in several countries. More than 25 million people around the globe are expected to participate. In addition to safety drills, many participants take extra steps to become more prepared for earthquakes or other disasters.
The Great ShakeOut is being coordinated by the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium, FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and dozens of other partners. ShakeOut is coordinated globally by the Southern California Earthquake Center in Los Angeles, California.
For more information, please visit www.shakeout.org. To watch or share FEMA Region III’s video, please visit www.fema.gov/region-iii or https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/videos/148301. For additional earthquake information, please visit https://www.ready.gov/earthquakes.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.
###