Earthquakes can strike anywhere at anytime without warning. In fact, thousands of earthquakes occur everyday in the US alone with most too small to even be noticed. The real danger lies in the number of strong, or even worse, major quakes that strike periodically. These quakes have the potential to cause severe widespread damage, death and serious injury if they strike near populated areas.
Having personally experienced every major shaker to hit Southern California starting with the 6.6M San Fernando Quake (Feb. 1969), I can attest to the awesome force of "intense" ground shaking generated by a 6.0+ or 7.0+ magnitude earthquake. There is just something about watching every single thing around you shaking all at once in different directions that is, well let's just say, unforgettable.
On Thursday morning at 10:15AM Pacific Time, California will be hit with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the southern San Andreas fault causing widespread damage and destruction.
Am I psychic? Not even close! It's the second annual Great California ShakeOut. The Great California ShakeOut is a statewide earthquake drill spanning all 58 California counties, grouped into 11 regional areas. The purpose of the ShakeOut is to help public safety agencies, people and organizations prepare for a major earthquake and practice how to protect ourselves when they happen.
Last year, I monitored the Los Angeles County Fire department communications on my scanner during the drill and was amazed as to the extent of the drill and simulated rescue operations occurring in real time - even one scenario involving a fire station collapse with firefighters trapped! Scary stuff.
Visit the official Great California ShakeOut Website to get instructions for Families, Individuals, Schools, Businesses, etc., on how to plan your drill, get prepared, and participate in the ShakeOut. Last year, nearly 5.5 million Southern Californians participated in the 2008 ShakeOut drill. This year over 6.4 million people are currently registered to participate in the 2009 ShakeOut Drill.
Check out these links for more information:
Well, that's for this post - enjoy. Please subscribe to my blog and let me know what you think about this post. Till next time...stay safe and happy scanning!
- RF
Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info
