People all across the Bay Area will dive under desks on Thursday morning at 10:16 am to take cover.

That’s not a prediction of a major earthquake. Rather, it’s part of increasingly popular statewide and international earthquake preparedness event.

The Great California Shakeout is a 1-minute drill in which people at more than 9,000 schools, businesses, churches, hospitals and other facilities around the state — representing 10.3 million Californians so far — have signed to up stop what they are doing and pretend that a major earthquake is happening.

They will be told to “drop, cover and hold on” and will receive tips and other information about how to be safe when the next major earthquake occurs.

“It’s an important chance for everyone, everywhere, once a year to practice earthquake saf

See Full Page