Emergency responders from California, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Washington are participating in a disaster exercise this week to test their response in the event of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Bay Area.
As part of the drill, the earthquake will simulate the loss of and damage to major infrastructure resources. Major bridges, drinking water supplies, wastewater treatment facilities, and chemical and radiological facilities could potentially be impacted if such a quake were to rock the Bay Area.
The simulated earthquake along the Hayward Fault is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offices in Denver, Seattle and San Francisco, the U.S. Coast Guard and California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The exercise, called the Great State Shake, starts Monday and ends Thursday.
