Get Ready for the Shakeout Thursday

At 10:20 a.m. Thursday, Mill Valley residents who haven’t heard of the Great California Shakeout might happen upon what they think is a very strange flash mob.

In fact, the Shakeout is a statewide emergency preparedness exercise in which nearly 8 million people are set to participate in a massive, statewide earthquake drill.

Participants all over California will practice a “duck, cover and hold on” drill at the same time starting at 10:20 a.m. The drill involves ducking under a table or desk, covering your head and neck with your hands and holding onto the leg of the table or desk so that if the furniture moves, you move with it.

A slew of local officials, organizations and residents have already signed on to participate, including , the police and fire departments, all six schools within the and local residents who have gone through the training. employees will read a public service announcement about the duck, cover and hold on drill to its shoppers at 10:20 a.m.

According to Mill Valley resident Maggie Lang, who oversees the countywide CERT program, local municipalities simply don’t have the manpower to check on everyone immediately following a large-scale disaster, a point driven home by the on the subject issued in June.

“As residents, we need to be responsible for ourselves, our families and our neighborhoods and be ready to take care of ourselves for some period of time, possibly as long as five to seven days without power,” Lang said.

People who want to participate can register at the Shakeout website – it’s open to individuals, families and larger groups like businesses and organizations.