Drop, cover and hold at 10:20 on 10/20

Everyone in Vancouver – residents, visitors and workers -- are encouraged to “drop, cover, and hold on” during the Great British Columbia ShakeOut earthquake drill at 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2011.

The province-wide drill asks participants to drop to the ground, take cover under a desk or table and hold on for up to two minutes in response to a simulated earthquake event.

“Taking part in ShakeOut is an excellent opportunity to practice safety skills in the event that there is a major earthquake in our region,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “While the City continues to strengthen our emergency preparedness plans for Vancouver, we highly encourage households and workplaces to have their own plans in place. Together we can work to ensure that Vancouver has a coordinated response should an earthquake happen.”

The ShakeOut drill, which is being held at the same time in other Canadian cities and U.S. states, aims to raise public awareness of earthquake risks and educate people on what to do in the event of major earthquake. Being prepared for an earthquake reduces injuries and deaths in the event of a strong earthquake, and helps citizens and emergency responders better cope with the after effects.

Preparations such as keeping an emergency kit, knowing where to turn off utilities and identifying out-of-area contacts are other simple actions citizens can take as part of their personal emergency preparedness plans. ShakeOut participants can register at www.shakeoutbc.ca to be counted as part of the largest earthquake drill in Canada. The website also offers news and information about earthquakes and preparedness.

Vancouver residents can register for free City emergency preparedness workshops at community centres in their neighbourhoods. For details, visit: www.vancouver.ca/nepp

The ShakeOut drill is led by the BC Earthquake Alliance Society and the ShakeOut BC Organizing Committee, a coalition of local, provincial, federal and non-governmental organizations working together to promote earthquake preparedness for British Columbians.