The Great California ShakeOut!

The question is not if but when Southern California will be hit by a major earthquake—one so damaging that it will permanently change lives and livelihoods in the region.  How severe the changes will be depends on the actions that individuals, schools, businesses, organizations, communities, and governments take to get ready.  To help prepare for this event, a multidisciplinary team of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center, and nearly 200 other partners in government, academia, emergency response, and industry, working to understand the long-term impacts of an enormous earthquake on the complicated social and economic interactions that sustain southern California society.  The resulting ShakeOut Scenario fundamentally changes the way that earthquake scenarios are done, providing an unprecedented level of detail on earth science, engineering, emergency response and social and economic effects of this potential earthquake.  This project, the ShakeOut Scenario, has applied the best scientific understanding to identify what can be done now to avoid an earthquake catastrophe.  The scenario will form the basis of a response and preparedness exercise that is the largest in California history. 


 
You can become involved, register at:
http://www.shakeout.org

Related Links

• Click here to download the following reports - 
  
  -- The ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario - A Story That Southern Californians Are Writing, USGS Circular 1324/CGS Special Report 207
  
  -- The ShakeOut Scenario - Effects of a Potential M7.8 Earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern California, CGS Preliminary Report 25/USGS Open File Report 2008-1150