San Francisco

San Francisco Fleet Week Kicks Off With Major Earthquake Drill

Before the Blue Angels take to the skies Saturday, San Francisco Fleet Week is kicking off with a major safety drill.

First responders will participate in an earthquake preparedness exercise Monday morning to test how the city would respond to the devastation of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the Hayward Fault.

Roughly 100 disaster service workers, National Guardsmen, Marines and volunteers will be headquartered at the Presidio to coordinate the delivery of food, water and other survival supplies during the simulated disaster situation.

"Just like you should prepare at home for an emergency, having your supplies, we as a city, we're preparing for an emergency where regular means of distribution of food and water aren't available," Francis Zamora, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, said.

The city of San Francisco and San Francisco Fleet Week have worked hand-in-hand since 2010 to not only thrill crowds with dazzling displays of military aircraft and warships, but to prepare the city by the bay for a destructive emergency as well.

"What makes San Francisco unique is that we conduct disaster response exercises in combination with those fantastic events," Zamora said.

California residents have been alerted by experts with the U.S. Geological Survey that the probability of the next "big one" striking in the next 30 years continues to increase.

This past week, a small quake cluster in Southern California had the U.S. Geological Survey on edge. The probability of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hitting the southern portion of the state increased 50-fold, but has since subsided.

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