{"id":10561,"date":"2025-10-18T00:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T00:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/10561\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T00:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T00:10:10","slug":"oakland-residents-officials-take-part-in-shakeout-to-stay-prepared-for-earthquakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/10561\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland residents, officials take part in ShakeOut to stay prepared for earthquakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND OFFICIALS PARTICIPATED in \u201cThe Great California Shakeout\u201d on Thursday morning and called on members of the public to be prepared in the event of a major earthquake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mayor Barbara Lee was joined by first responders in front of Oakland City Hall to urge residents to participate in the drill, which takes place annually on Oct. 16 in remembrance of the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 that resulted in numerous deaths, injuries, and damage across the Bay Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, a 3.1-magnitude earthquake shook the University of California, Berkeley campus less than an hour before the press conference, and the mayor mentioned that to demonstrate the importance of preparedness for local communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to remind everyone to drop, cover, and hold during an earthquake. And to not stand in a doorway!\u201d said Lee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking alongside Lee was Tim Dawson, seismic hazards program manager with the California Geological Survey, who said nearly 70% of Californians live near an active fault that could experience a large earthquake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why we drill this is because an earthquake will happen very suddenly and it\u2019s just human nature to wonder what\u2019s going on and fear might take over,\u201d said Dawson. \u201cThe better that you\u2019re able to practice this, it\u2019s a muscle memory almost. It\u2019s like riding a bike or putting a fork to your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"City employees practice covering their heads during an earthquake drill at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of city hall in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday Oct. 16 2025. The Great California Shakeout happens annually to prepare residents for earthquakes. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/Bay City News)<\/p>\n

Throughout the morning, Oakland city employees practiced the \u201cdrop, cover, and hold\u201d drill from inside their offices and outside in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First responders also helped teach individuals how to use first extinguishers, set up emergency tents, and perform CPR.<\/p>\n

Hayward City Councilmember Ray Bonilla Jr. said over 10 million Californians signed up to participate in the drill, but stressed people should have a plan for after an earthquake happened and not just while it happens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, but we also have constant reminders that preparedness isn\u2019t an option,\u201d said Bonilla. \u201cWhether it\u2019s storing extra water, updating your emergency contacts, downloading the MyShake app, creating a family plan, or participating in great events like today, every step brings us closer to a more resilient Bay Area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Earthquake simulator riders experience a 7.0 magnitude quake during the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) Great California ShakeOut Tour and Earthquake Drill at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. (Office of Emergency Services via Bay City News)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nLeft: A city employee practices using a fire extinguisher at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of city hall in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday Oct. 16 2025. Right: Mayor Barbara Lee participates in the Great California Shakeout at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of city hall in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday Oct. 16 2025. (Andres Jimenez Larios\/Bay City News)<\/p>\n

The California Department of Conservation states on their website that two or three earthquakes are generally estimated to occur every year in the state that can cause moderate damage to structures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The California Governor\u2019s Office of Emergency Services manages the early warning system which sends alerts through a free smartphone app called MyShake \u2014 available for iPhone users who want audio and visual warnings in English and Spanish, a statewide warning system most smartphones automatically subscribe to, and a no-cost text messaging system.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit shakeout.org\/california<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND OFFICIALS PARTICIPATED in \u201cThe Great California Shakeout\u201d on Thursday morning and called on members of the public…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,2475,2351,702,2949,8516,3978,9998,9999,4102,143,10000,145,144,1492,149],"class_list":["post-10561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-alert","tag-barbara-lee","tag-cpr","tag-earthquake","tag-earthquake-preparedness","tag-emergency","tag-loma-prieta","tag-myshake","tag-natural-disasters","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-city-hall","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-public-safety","tag-uc-berkeley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}