Millions of Californians participated in the 10th annual Great Shakeout, which covers the overview of earthquake safety.
Among the many people taking part in the statewide drill were students at Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria. During the morning event, teachers instructed the students to get under their desks after an alarm alerted them to secure themselves.
Although earthquakes are unpredictable and not as common as other natural disasters, teachers at the high school think the drill is important to remember for future events.
“I think we can’t we can’t get lazy and we can’t forget that earthquakes are very dangerous. I saw the havoc with my own eyes that it reeked in Los Angeles, and I don’t want that to happen to any of my students,” said Pioneer Valley High School English teacher Arnold Feher.
The Great Shakeout doesn’t just remind people to find a safe place to hide under during an earthquake, but also brings awareness to the Brace and Bolt program put on by the California Earthquake Authority.
Homeowners who want to upgrade their building standards to code by bracing and bolting their home’s foundation to the ground structure can sign up for funding to do so through the CEA.
Registration for the program is open until November 13.
