Great ShakeOut Earthquake drill Oct. 20; 40 million+ to practice earthquake safety plans

The annual Great ShakeOut earthquake drill will take place tomorrow, Oct. 20, 2022 across the United States, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 3 wants to encourage the Whole Community to participate and learn the simple, but critical, safety steps to preparing for and staying safe during an earthquake. The Great ShakeOut is the largest earthquake drill worldwide and over 40 million people are already registered to practice their earthquake safety plans.

We encourage everyone to Drop, Cover, and Hold On with us on Oct. 20, 2022.

Worldwide there is an average of one damaging earthquake almost every third day. In the United States, earthquakes are normally thought of as a west coast hazard, but they can happen anywhere, such as the Mid-Atlantic 2011 earthquake.

The severity of the 2011 earthquake brought about two Presidentially Declared Disasters that were awarded to both Virginia and Washington, DC totaling more than $47 million in Public Assistance and almost $17 million in Individual Assistance Funding Obligations combined.

“Damaging earthquakes can occur at any time– where we work, live or travel,” said MaryAnn Tierney, FEMA Region 3 Regional Administrator. “ This is an excellent opportunity to practice and prepare for earthquakes, a hazard that can impact millions of people at a moment’s notice.”