Great ShakeOut

Great ShakeOut
Name	Great ShakeOut
Frequency	Annual
Location	Global
First	2008
Participants	Millions

Great ShakeOut The Great ShakeOut is an annual earthquake preparedness drill initiated in 2008 that engages schools, businesses, emergency services, and civic organizations to practice drop, cover, and hold on procedures. The exercise grew from collaborations among the United States Geological Survey, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the Southern California Earthquake Center, and Los Angeles County partners, and it has been adopted by institutions across California, the United States, and internationally by agencies in Japan, New Zealand, and other seismically active regions. The campaign emphasizes immediate response, continuity planning, and public education involving millions of participants from entities such as FEMA, American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local school districts.

History

The drill originated after research and advocacy by scientists at the United States Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center, and emergency planners within the California Seismic Safety Commission and Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. Early pilot events in 2008 drew participation from University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, Los Angeles Unified School District, and municipal agencies in San Francisco, reflecting lessons from historic earthquakes like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Subsequent expansions were informed by international dialogues involving the Japan Meteorological Agency, Geological Survey of Japan, and the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences of New Zealand, and coordinated with nonprofit partners including the American Red Cross and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Over time the program incorporated research findings from institutions such as Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology about seismic risk, building performance, and community resilience.

Organization and Participation

Organization of the drill has relied on partnerships among federal agencies like FEMA, state offices including the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, county emergency management offices in Los Angeles County, municipal fire departments such as the Los Angeles Fire Department, and academic centers such as the Southern California Earthquake Center and United States Geological Survey. Participation has included public school systems like Los Angeles Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District, universities like University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California, corporations including major employers in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, health systems such as Kaiser Permanente and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and nonprofit organizations including the American Red Cross and United Way. International collaborators have encompassed agencies in Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, and Philippines emergency services and research institutions including National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience.

Drill Components and Procedures

Typical drill components include nationwide scheduling coordinated with agencies like FEMA and state offices, scripted prompts developed by the Southern California Earthquake Center and USGS, communications exercises involving Federal Communications Commission guidance, and after-action reporting with standards used by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health health partners. Procedures emphasize "drop, cover, and hold on" drills based on recommendations from the American Red Cross and consensus guidance from seismologists at USGS and engineers at California Institute of Technology. Schools follow modified protocols for students in Los Angeles Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District, while businesses integrate continuity plans consistent with frameworks from Department of Homeland Security and private sector partners like Chamber of Commerce chapters in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Drills also include retrofitting awareness drawn from studies at Stanford University and building assessment practices influenced by the California Building Standards Commission.

Geographic Reach and Notable Events

The campaign began in California and expanded across the United States with significant municipal participation in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento. International adoption included programs in Japan after engagement with the Japan Meteorological Agency, in New Zealand with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, and in Chile and Mexico following outreach by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and partnerships with regional emergency management agencies. Notable events include mass drills in 2008 and major anniversary exercises that coincided with regional earthquakes such as the 2010 Chile earthquake and informational campaigns tied to seismic activity near the San Andreas Fault and studies by the Southern California Earthquake Center.

Impact and Outcomes

Evaluations by researchers at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, and policy analysts at FEMA and the California Seismic Safety Commission show increased public awareness, improvements in school preparedness in districts like Los Angeles Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District, and enhanced coordination among agencies including the Los Angeles Fire Department and California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Studies published in collaboration with the Southern California Earthquake Center and USGS document better personal readiness, increased emergency supply stockpiling, and adoption of mitigation measures promoted by the California Building Standards Commission and nonprofit partners such as the American Red Cross. The initiative has influenced public policy discussions in state legislatures including the California State Legislature and contributed to resilience planning in municipal governments like City of Los Angeles and City of San Francisco.

Criticism and Challenges

Critics including academics from University of California, Berkeley and policy analysts at RAND Corporation have noted limitations such as inconsistent participation across socioeconomic communities, challenges in measuring long-term behavioral change, and uneven integration with infrastructure resilience efforts led by entities like the California Public Utilities Commission and municipal transit agencies such as Bay Area Rapid Transit. Operational challenges cited by emergency management practitioners at Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management and San Francisco Office of Emergency Management include coordinating large-scale communication across platforms regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and ensuring accessibility for vulnerable populations served by agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs and community organizations such as United Way. Ongoing debates involve balancing large public drills with targeted retrofitting investments advocated by engineers at California Institute of Technology and policy experts at FEMA.

Category:Disaster preparedness