SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — At exactly 10:20 a.m. Thursday, millions of people all over the world stopped, dropped and rolled. You know the drill! It’s part of International ShakeOut Day, which is an annual event encouraging people to get earthquake ready.
A big part of this in California is a push to download the “MyShake" app designed to detect earthquakes before we feel them. The way it works is there are ground motion sensors all over California.
The sensors will detect earthquakes and registered users will get a notification through the app, giving people a heads up before you actually feel anything.
How much notice you get will depend on how far you are from the epicenter.
Derek Lambeth from the Office of Emergency Services gave us a glimpse into what the future may look like in the Golden State.
"Imagine you are in a sky-rise building — the earthquake alert system has the ability to retract elevators and bring them down. We've seen it in certain fire districts where it will open big doors and allow people to save lives," Lambeth says.
Another way to prepare is by visiting the state’s earthquake simulator, which simulates what it feels like to be in a 7.0 earthquake.
And experts suggest you get a family evacuation plan ready; create a go-bag with important documents, medicine, and essentials you’ll need should you need to be evacuated.
These are precautionary steps experts say will come in handy as they believe it’s only a matter of time when a big one occurs.
“Sooner or later, it will happen, and we don't know exactly when or where," Sean McGowan at the Federal Emergency Management Agency says. "But we do know that Mother Nature is on her timescale and we are going to get hit again."
