Millions of Californians Stop, Drop, Hold On for ShakeOut Drill

The fifth annual "Great California ShakeOut" is scheduled for 10:17 a.m. on the anniversary of an earthquake that shook the Bay Area during a World Series game

Millions of Californians stopped, dropped and held on Thursday morning as part of a statewide drill on the 24th anniversary of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake that shook the Bay Area during a World Series baseball game.

Register: Great California ShakeOut

The fifth annual "Great California ShakeOut" was a 10:17 a.m. There were 9.5 million people registered for the quake drill, according to ShakeOut.org.

More than 4.1 million of those registrants live in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and other parts of western Southern California -- a region in which no one resides more than 10 miles from an active fault, according to ShakeOut.org.

The area includes the San Andreas Fault, the longest fault in the state.

As of Thursday morning, 3.2 million people in Los Angeles County registered for the event. Registrants in Orange County numbered 945,000. Nearly 640,000 people are registered in Riverside County and 617,000 in San Bernardino County.

More than 9.4 million people in California registered for the previous ShakeOut drill.

Thursday morning's drill scenario involved a 7.8-magnitude or larger earthquake that produces shaking for hundreds of miles over four minutes. Hundreds of aftershocks would follow.

The event comes on the 24th anniversay of the Loma Prieta earthquake in the Bay Area. The quake at 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989 occurred during the World Series baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's.

The quake measured magnitude 6.9. Sixty-three people were killed an more than 3,700 were injured.

Californians should be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours following an earthquake or other major disaster, which includes having a first-aid kit, medications, food and enough water for each member of a household to drink one gallon per day for at least 72 hours, according to authorities. Homeowners and renters should also know how to turn off the gas in their house or apartment in case of leaks.

The first ShakeOut drill in 2008 was a public education effort by scientists and emergency managers in Southern California. The exercise expanded to the entire state the next year .

The drills are now conducted worldwide.

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