Southern Californians by the millions were signed up to simultaneously drop to the floor on Thursday and huddle face down under tables and desks for two minutes of imagined seismic turmoil in the biggest U.S. earthquake drill ever.The Great Southern California ShakeOut drill was organized by scientists and emergency officials as part of a campaign to prepare the region's 22 million inhabitants for a catastrophic quake that experts say is inevitable and long overdue.
The exercise is based on the premise of a magnitude 7.8 temblor striking the San Andreas Fault, similar in strength to a devastating quake that hit China in May.
Well over 5 million people officially signed up to take part in the drill, and organizers said they assumed many more would join in without registering.
At precisely 10 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST), people in classrooms, offices and homes throughout the region will be asked to perform the prescribed "drop, cover and hold-on" exercise for two minutes, the duration of the hypothetical quake. They will be guided by a public service message distributed to businesses and schools and played over the airwaves by radio and TV stations.