California's yearly statewide earthquake drill, the Great California ShakeOut, takes place Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at 10:15 a.m. At that moment, schools, offices and households across the Bay Area are being asked to practice the same three steps for one minute: drop, cover and hold on. The drill is held every year on the third Thursday of October and is billed as the world's largest earthquake drill.

Alameda County residents signed up for the county's AC Alert system may already have received a text reminder on Wednesday morning, Berkeleyside reported.

How to take part

Registration is free at ShakeOut.org, run by the Statewide California Earthquake Center. Signing up is optional, but it counts you in the official totals and gives access to drill scripts, recorded "drill broadcasts" and posters. Organizers say you can also hold your drill on another day or at another time if 10:15 a.m. Thursday doesn't work, and groups can include people in several locations by video call. Schools, districts and county offices of education can use the ShakeOut to meet the state's school earthquake drill requirements.

During the drill, Alameda County's emergency management office suggests thinking through what you would do wherever you happen to be, at work, at home or on the go, and looking around for objects that could fall or be thrown during real shaking.

If you use a cane, walker or wheelchair

The county's guidance adapts the steps for people who can't easily get to the ground:

  • Cane: drop, cover and hold on if you are able, or sit and protect your head and neck.
  • Walker: lock the wheels, get as low as possible, cover your head and neck, and hold on.
  • Wheelchair: lock the wheels, cover your head and neck, and hold on.

How many people are signed up

As of Wednesday, Alameda County had 462,384 registered participants, Berkeleyside reported, a little below last year's roughly 484,000 and well short of the county's high of 592,594 in 2019. Statewide, ShakeOut.org lists 10.4 million California participants in 2025.

Get earthquake alerts on your phone

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) runs Earthquake Warning California, which sends warnings through smartphone apps, phone operating-system alerts and Wireless Emergency Alerts as soon as shaking is detected. Alameda County's AC Alert encourages residents to download MyShake, a free app that sends time-sensitive notifications when tremors are detected nearby and shows recent quakes and reported damage. More preparedness tips are at earthquake.ca.gov.

Cal OES opened its annual ShakeOut Tour in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 12, with a "shake trailer" that simulates shaking of up to magnitude 7.0, about the size of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the last quake to cause deaths and major damage across Northern California. The tour then stopped in Sacramento and Los Angeles and ends in San Diego on Thursday. Cal OES also noted a recent run of small quakes in places including Morgan Hill and Salinas as a reminder to be ready.

With an El Niño winter forecast, many Bay Area cities are also urging residents to build go-kits now. See our earlier coverage of Pleasanton's Be Ready emergency prep push and the free AwareCA emergency alert app.