The Great Southern California ShakeOut

Join the ShakeOut and  then “Stop, Cover and Hold On”! 

Register to participate in "The Great Southern California SHAKEOUT" Drill (Nov. 13, 2008) /
Register for the L.A. International Earthquake Conference (Nov. 12-14, 2008)
(It coincides with "The Great Southern California SHAKEOUT" 

November 13, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., the City of Alhambra will participate in the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history called “The Great Southern California ShakeOut.” The Great Southern California ShakeOut is based on a potential magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault— approximately 5,000 times larger than the magnitude 5.4 earthquake that shook southern California on July 29. It’s not a matter of if an earthquake of this size will happen—but when. And it is possible that it will happen in our lifetime.

In this simulated earthquake, the shaking will last for nearly two minutes. The strongest shaking will occur near the fault (in the projected earthquake, the Coachella Valley, Inland Empire and Antelope Valley). Pockets of strong shaking will form away from the fault where sediments trap the waves (in the projected earthquake, it would occur in the San Gabriel Valley and in East Los Angeles). An earthquake of this size will cause unprecedented damage to Southern California—greatly dwarfing the massive damage that occurred in Northridge’s 6.7-magnitude earthquake in 1994. In summary, the ShakeOut Scenario estimates this earthquake will cause some 2,000 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage and other losses, and severe, long-lasting disruption. The report has regional implications and is a dramatic call to action for preparedness.

The City of Alhambra will be conducting a full-scale exercise as part of this year’s statewide emergency response exercise “Golden Guardian 2008,” in conjunction with the ShakeOut. The exercise will commence with a simulated earthquake striking at 10:00 a.m. on November 13th and end at 3:00 p.m. The exercise is designed to test and evaluate emergency response capabilities of the city. City staff representatives from the Fire Department, Police Department, Public Works, Utilities, Finance Department, Library Staff, Personnel Department and Community Services have been meeting regularly over the last six months planning for the exercise.

All city departments will be participating in the exercise either in the field or in the City Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The exercise will consist of activating the EOC, giving city status reports to the County Office of Emergency Management, conducting windshield assessments of designated target hazards in the field and responding to simulated emergencies such as large fires, flooding, collapsed buildings and overpasses, and deal with the loss of power, water and communications as well as opening two shelter sites in the city.

The Alhambra Unified School District will also be participating in the exercise by conducting a “Stop, Cover and Hold On” drill for 60 seconds and evacuating students to a safe refuge area after the simulated earthquake hits. They will be reporting their status to the City EOC and distribute emergency preparedness brochures to students to be taken home.  In addition, the School District will be activating their EOC, practice accounting for all students after the earthquake and implementing their emergency procedures at all school sites.

The Alhambra faith-based community and Alhambra Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will also assist in the exercise. CERT members are comprised of a group of volunteers who have been trained to help them selves and their neighbors during a disaster. They will assist the city in the EOC, at the shelter sites and at the four city fire stations. The faith-based community is a group of churches in Alhambra that have partnered with the city to assist the community in a disaster. They have volunteered the use of their facilities for use as shelters and members will assist the city in the EOC as well as provide comfort, reassurance and spiritual help to Alhambra residences if needed during a disaster.

The city invites all Alhambra citizens and businesses to participate in the “Great Southern California ShakeOut” by taking the time to prepare for an emergency and to “Stop, Cover and Hold” at 10:00 a.m. on November 13, 2008. Citizens and businesses can register to participate in the ShakeOut by logging onto www.shakeout.org. Residence and businesses can also log onto the City of Alhambra web site to access disaster preparedness information.