California’s annual earthquake drill happens Thursday. Here are details

Get ready: The Great California Shakeout is coming Thursday.

The event is an annual earthquake drill, aimed at increasing public awareness about what to do during major shaking. Millions of people around the world have signed up for the drills, which are scheduled for 10:16 a.m. local time. 

“The best protective action you can take during an earthquake is to drop down, get under your desk, cover your head and hold on to something that’s sturdy, like the leg of a table,” said state geologist Jeremy Lancaster, with the California Geological Survey, during a presentation Monday.

The Great ShakeOut website also provides additional preparation tips, like securing items that might fall during earthquakes, creating family disaster plans and restocking emergency supply kits.

The drill occurs a day before the 36th anniversary of the devastating 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake, which was centered near Santa Cruz and caused widespread damage, including to the Bay Bridge and the Marina district.

At 10:16 a.m., the MyShake app will buzz for millions of Californians. The alert will display an infographic instructing users to drop, cover and hold on. It also includes an audio message, indicating that it is an earthquake drill.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert system, which underlies the MyShake app, provides warning in advance of earthquake shaking by detecting seismic waves. People near the epicenter may receive little or no advance warning, however.

Users should make sure they have the latest version of the MyShake app installed, and also have location services and notifications enabled.

While MyShake encourages users to practice the drill, those who don’t want to receive the message can temporarily turn off app notifications.

More than 53.2 million people worldwide have signed up for the event, according to the ShakeOut website on Tuesday. There are over 10 million participants registered across California. About 1.5 million people have signed up in the Bay Area. 

BART is planning to trigger its ShakeAlert early warning earthquake system at 10:16 a.m., which will cause trains to automatically slow down to 27 mph and come to a brief stop. 

BART will also make a systemwide public announcement encouraging riders to be prepared for earthquakes. The transit agency is also testing internal communications systems and simulating damage inspections.

This week, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is hosting a statewide tour with an earthquake simulation trailer and providing quake preparedness information. This simulator is akin to the California Academy of Science’s Shake House.