SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif — Northern California will get an alert notification on Thursday morning during the ShakeOut Drill, a test of the state's earthquake warning system.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) is testing earthquake alerts on the MyShake app following a press conference at 10 a.m. on International ShakeOut Day, a day of recognition for earthquake preparedness.
The press conference will be live streamed on Cal OES's Facebook and Twitter pages. Around the same time, Sacramento, Yolo, and Placer County will test their emergency notifications systems in the spirit of ShakeOut Day.
If you see the number (833) 422-5253 calling your phone, this is an emergency notification from Sacramento, Yolo or Placer County Emergency Management. The test will occur at roughly the same time as the Earthquake Warning California test from Cal OES: 10:15 a.m. on Thursday.
Sacramento County urges people who have not subscribed to the system to do so immediately to receive the earthquake alert.
The ShakeOut Drill is meant to not just test the alert system, but to remind Californians of best practices during an earthquake, namely Drop, Cover and Hold On.
ALL ABOUT EARTHQUAKE PREP:
- What you need to know about ShakeAlert, the earthquake warning system | Earthquake Ready or Not
- What can happen to our power grids after an earthquake? | Earthquake Ready or Not
- Why a disaster kit will help you survive the next big one | Earthquake Ready or Not
- What you need to know about the San Andreas fault | Earthquake Ready or Not
- The science of forecasting earthquakes | Earthquake Ready or Not
- How vulnerable is California to tsunamis? | Earthquake Ready or Not
WATCH MORE: Earthquakes come without warning and if you aren’t prepared by the time the big one hits, you will be too late. The 2019 earthquake near Ridgecrest, California shined a spotlight on the need to be prepared with a disaster kit and a plan. A little work now could help you survive the next quake.