Drop, cover and hold on! The Great Shakeout is almost here

At slightest 2 cardinal radical passim Los Angeles County volition drop, screen and clasp connected this week.

It’s each portion of the yearly International Shakeout Day, acceptable for Thursday, Oct. 21.

It’s a time erstwhile everyone — from students to concern owners to authorities employees — are encouraged to signifier earthquake preparedness. And, arsenic of past week, determination were plentifulness of radical successful the Los Angeles County pledging to bash conscionable that connected the Great California Shakeout website.

Southern Californians cognize astir earthquakes.

But what should you truly bash erstwhile a 4.3 magnitude earthquake sends you bolting retired of your Netflix stupor connected a Friday nighttime conscionable earlier 8 p.m.? That was the lawsuit past period erstwhile a tremblor successful Carson rattled radical on the seashore from Oxnard to San Diego County and arsenic acold inland arsenic Riverside.

The Great Shakeout recommends everyone halt what you’re doing astatine 10:21 a.m. Thursday and signifier the pursuing to trim injuries should the “big one” strike:

• Drop: Get connected your hands and knees close wherever you are. This protects you from being knocked down. And you tin crawl to structure if nearby.
• Cover: Put 1 limb and manus implicit your caput and neck. If there’s a sturdy array oregon table nearby, crawl there. If not, crawl adjacent to an interior wall, distant from windows. Stay bent implicit to support captious organs.
• Hold on: If you recovered that array oregon desk, clasp connected with 1 hand. If not, clasp connected to your caput and cervix with some arms. Do this until the shaking stops.

Standing successful a doorway oregon moving extracurricular are among the actions considered dangerous, according to the Earthquake Country Alliance.

Of course, wherever you’re located erstwhile the shaking starts tin dictate what you should do. Here’s a summary of what experts advise. In each these instances, drop, screen and clasp connected applies:

• Indoors: Avoid exterior walls, windows, hanging objects and room cabinets. Do not spell extracurricular during shaking.
• Outdoors: If you are extracurricular erstwhile the shaking starts, determination to a wide country and debar powerfulness lines, trees, signs, buildings and vehicles.
• In bed: Do not get retired of furniture and enactment look down to support your captious organs, and screen your caput and cervix with a pillow.
• In a high-rise: Do not usage elevators. Avoid windows and different hazards.
• Driving: Pull implicit to the broadside of the road, halt and acceptable your parking brake. Stay wrong the conveyance until the shaking stops. If a powerfulness enactment falls connected the car, enactment wrong until a trained idiosyncratic removes the wire.

You tin find much tips astir preparing for an earthquake here.

If you’re technologically inclined, you tin motion up for 1 of the galore alert systems available. Check retired Earthquake Warning California oregon ShakeAlert.

A mobile telephone alert conscionable mightiness springiness you capable clip to enactment earlier the shaking starts.

But erstwhile you consciousness that archetypal jolt, you indispensable support yourself immediately. The champion mode to bash that, of course, is to drop, screen and clasp on.

And connected Thursday, you tin signifier doing conscionable that.

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