Yesterday, was the big day for a hypothetical "Big One". According to the Shake out web site, since May of this year, millions of people, companies, and organizations signed up to participate in the "Great Southern California Shakeout".
In May, 2008, scientists unveiled a hypothetical Scenario describing how a magnitude 7.8 Southern California earthquake -similar to the earthquake earlier this year in China- would impact the region, causing loss of lives and massive damage to infrastructure, including critical transportation, power, and water systems.
In the Scenario, the earthquake would kill 1800 people, injure 50,000, cause $200 billion in damage, and have long-lasting social and economic consequences. This is the most comprehensive analysis ever of what a major Southern California earthquake would mean, and is the scientific framework for what will be the largest earthquake preparedness drill in California history, scheduled for November 13, 2008.
The November 13th preparedness exercise was designed to test the ability of emergency responders to deal with the impact of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault in Southern California, and is being jointly organized by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the California Office of Homeland Security. The exercise is to occur during a week-long series of public events planned for the "Great Southern California ShakeOut." The "ShakeOut" was designed to help communities plan to respond to the risks highlighted in the Scenario.
I wanted to see how our community would do. So at 10:00 AM sharp, I showed up at the Chino Home Depot, which was a sponsor of the event. I expected to see some really important activities as they prepared for a 7.8 earthquake. I've always wondered, "What should you do if you find yourself in a warehouse store during an earthquake?"
Unfortunately, all I got was a coupon that said I could get a free earthquake kit if I signed up at www.earthquakeauthority.com. The clerk hardly knew anything about it. I'll give them credit though. At least they sponsored the event and are helping to issue emergency supplies to the public.
My quest took me further to the New Chino Hills Sheriff's Office on Peyton Avenue. There I found people who were taking earthquakes seriously (albeit having fun at the same time). When I got there, they were still outside of the building practicing their communications protocols. I met Lieutenant, Frank M. Gonzalez, and some of his staff and talked to them for a while about the drill. I got the impression that at least our public services and police protection would be ready in the event of such an earthquake.
From pure luck, I also got a tour of our new Sheriff's facilities. I was impressed! It wasn't just the fact that we now have a state of the art police facility in our city but more just the smartness of it all. The new facility is spacious yet Spartan. I didn't see any waste or ostentation, just a fit and ready facility designed to help our local Sheriff's do their jobs more efficiently. It's about time that they have secure parking for their police and detectives vehicles. The city of Chino Hills and the Sheriff's Police should be commended for the good work they've done there. I'm looking forward to viewing the new City Hall and Library.
