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Great ShakeOut Engages 10 Million Californians as Small Berkeley Quake Underscores Risk

State officials used the drill to highlight California’s earthquake early warning tools alongside 72-hour household readiness.

Great ShakeOut 2025: Millions of Californians take part in statewide earthquake drill
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San Fernando Middle School students lay on the playing field during the Great California ShakeOut in San Fernando on Friday, Oct. 16, 2025. The Great California ShakeOut is an annual statewide earthquake preparedness drill. (Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer)
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Overview

  • The one-minute drill took place at 10:16 a.m., with schools, transit systems and workplaces practicing the “Drop, Cover and Hold On” protocol.
  • Registrations topped 10.3 million statewide, including about 3.4 million in Los Angeles County, 850,000 in Orange County and 980,458 in San Diego County.
  • A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck about a mile east of Berkeley at 9:23 a.m., producing weak to light shaking, according to U.S. Geological Survey community reports.
  • California promoted its Earthquake Early Warning system and the MyShake app, which has more than 4 million downloads and can provide up to roughly 30 seconds of advance notice for qualifying quakes.
  • CalOES capped a statewide outreach tour with an earthquake simulator in San Diego, as officials urged securing heavy items and keeping a 72-hour kit while planning for a modeled 7.8 San Andreas event that USGS says could cause about 1,800 deaths and over $200 billion in damage.