It is that time again. The Great Washington ShakeOut is taking place this Thursday, Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m.
This drill is one of the largest earthquake preparation exercise in the world. Over 1.2 million Washington residents have signed up this year with over 3,525 Pacific County residents registering for participation. These are only the people who have taken the time to say they are participating online. There are more people participating than these numbers.
During the exercise, many government offices, businesses and schools will evacuate after the sirens go off. Please use extreme caution if you are driving anywhere during the drill. Be aware that many businesses will be disrupted during this time.
Gov. Jay Inslee has declared October Disaster Preparedness Month and called on Washingtonians to participate in the Great Washington ShakeOut. If residents are busy on Oct. 19, they can find a time when it works best for them.
"I want our residents to be two weeks ready," Inslee said. "As we've seen from the earthquake in Mexico and even the hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico, having an emergency kit is essential for survival. We're working to get our state more prepared, and we want to make sure residents are ready to do their part, too."
The greatest risk to southwestern Washington is from a Cascadia earthquake event or a large inland earthquake. In 2011 during the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, many lives where spared because of natural disaster drills. Your chance of surviving increases if you know what to do.
The ShakeOut will start with a 90 second siren of the actual siren, not the Westminster Chimes that normally indicates a test. A voice message will follow in both English and Spanish announcing the drill followed by the siren again. This is the signal to drop and cover, after which it is time to evacuate to safety.
The exercise should no be longer than 20 minutes long. Participants are encouraged to take photos of themselves participating in the drill and to post those photos on social media using the tag #ShakeOut or the tag @waShakeOut on Twitter.
For more information go to www.shakeout.org/washington.