Millions Take Part In SoCal Quake Drill

This film depicts the realistic outcome of a hypothetical, but plausible, magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern California.

Film used courtesy of usgs.gov

LOS ANGELES (CBS) Millions of Southern California residents dropped to the floor and crawled under desks Thursday as part of a regional earthquake preparedness drill that assumed the area was hit with a magnitude-7.8 temblor that killed nearly 2,000 people and overwhelmed emergency responders.

The Great Southern California ShakeOut earthquake drill -- involving more than 5.3 million people and billed as the largest ever undertaken in the United States -- was intended to test the capabilities of local and state agencies and show Californians what they need to do to prepare for a major disaster.

"If you are prepared, it gives you an automatic sense of calmness because you have the tools and equipment necessary to function," said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda, who took part in a preparedness drill at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills.

At schools across the region, students evacuated classrooms and gathered on athletic fields. Many businesses had their employees take cover and evacuate in recognition of the mock temblor.

The scenario envisioned 1,800 people dying, 53,000 suffering injuries and 1,500 buildings collapsing in a temblor that would cause $213 billion in damages by striking on the San Andreas Fault with 50 times the intensity of the Northridge Earthquake of Jan. 17, 1994.

The Northridge shaker, which occurred along a blind thrust fault near the San Andreas Fault, struck with a magnitude of 6.7, killing 57 people and causing $20 billion in damages.

"What are we missing here today, the trauma of the earth moving? But everything else we can simulate," he said.

Of the 5.3 million participants in today's exercise, about 3 million were students in Los Angeles and Riverside county schools.

The drill tested not only emergency responders but also the region's social fabric, according to earthquake experts.

"What makes a natural disaster become a catastrophe?" said Lucy Jones with the California Geological Survey. "It's going to depend on how much our social system can hold together. When you get to the worst events you see the whole community fall apart."

The simulation assumed there would be 1,600 fires. Fire departments throughout the region will participate in response drills, including simulated events in which multiple people are injured, a building has collapsed, a hazardous materials situation has developed and fires have broken out in areas where responders have little or no water.

"We clearly understand, given the predictability and magnitude of this earthquake, that public safety, fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical services and government will be overwhelmed," Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said.

"We're doing our very best to test and evaluate and modify our procedures as necessary."

In the ShakeOut simulation, which began at 10 a.m., the hypothetical earthquake will start on the San Andreas Fault at Bombay Beach, northeast of the Salton Sea. The earthquake would travel through the Cajon Pass, severing the Ontario (15) Freeway, bending rail lines, breaking pipelines and electrical transmission lines and causing explosions and landslides, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The city of Los Angeles could experience strong shaking for 55 seconds, compared to the much shorter period of shaking that occurred during the Northridge quake. Southern Californians would likely feel tens of thousands of aftershocks.

Californians should be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours following an earthquake or other major disaster. That includes having a First Aid kit, medications, food and enough water for each member of a household to drink one gallon per day for at least 72 hours, according to local and state officials.

Homeowners and renters should also know how to turn off the gas in their house or apartment, and keep sturdy shoes near their bed or in their car.

"I can say without a doubt, Los Angeles is the best prepared city in America. That doesn't mean there isn't much more we can do," said Councilman Greig Smith.