Calif. puts on drill to prepare for 'Big One'

updated 8:48 p.m. ET Nov. 13, 2008

LOS ANGELES - People across Southern California on Thursday looked like they had stepped out of a disaster movie. Children ducked under their desks. Victims with fake blood lay on the ground. First responders sprang into action to treat the “wounded.”

The controlled chaos was all part of a mock “Big One” — an earthquake drill billed as the largest in U.S. history and aimed at testing the preparedness of governments, emergency responders and residents.

At 10 a.m., a cast of millions dropped to the ground, covered their heads and held onto furniture. Local television stations interrupted their regular programming to announce the drill and covered it as they would a major earthquake, though with continual reminders that the emergency wasn’t real.

Thursday’s drill was based on a fictional magnitude-7.8 event on the southern San Andreas Fault. If such a quake occurred today, scientists estimate it would kill 1,800 people and cause $200 billion in damage. Some high-rises would fall, sections of freeways would crumble and gas pipes would crack.

The dress rehearsal served to remind Californians that they live on shaky ground that can rupture without warning. That southern San Andreas has not popped in more than three centuries, and scientists fear stress buildup could unleash a big quake.

“We’re really taking a step forward toward earthquake safety,” said Lucy Jones, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist who has long urged residents to prepare.

At Bishop Alemany High School, a San Fernando Valley campus badly damaged by a 1971 quake and destroyed by the 1994 Northridge event, the football field was filled with mock mass casualties wore colored wristbands indicating the severity of their fake injuries.

Schwarzenegger plays a role
Many of the students posing as faux victims said they were too young to remember Northridge, the last damaging quake in Southern California, which toppled bridges and buildings.

Olivia Paluch, 17, who sported a fake gash on her head and cheek, pondered the “Big One” as she waited for firefighters to take her away by stretcher.

“It’s really scary seeing all my friends like this,” Paluch said, gesturing to her fellow students painted with gruesome injuries on their bodies. “It’s overwhelming.”

Another student, Emily Loren, 17, lay on the ground nearby with a bandaged head. Loren said she was pretending to be a student who was studying in the library and got hit by a falling book during the shaking.

“It’s exciting. It’s better to be prepared. At the same time, it’s nerve-racking,” said Loren, who had a fake IV attached to her arm.

Even California’s governor-actor played a role. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived by helicopter at the football field triage center in the late morning to survey the situation. He thanked the federal government for funding the drill and praised the agencies that cooperated.

“It’s one thing to talk about being ready for an emergency, but it’s another thing to actually test it,” Schwarzenegger said.

Some people, however, remained blase.

“I live under the assumption that the engineering going into these buildings is pretty sophisticated,” said Grant Casner, who works on the ninth floor of a downtown high-rise and who didn’t take part in the drill.

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