Drop, cover and hold your horses: Arizona statewide earthquake drill set for Thursday

PHOENIX — Arizonans, get ready: Thursday is The Great Arizona Shakeout.

Thousands of residents will drop, cover, and hold on at 10:15 am for a statewide earthquake drill. Businesses and schools, as well as state and federal offices, plan to participate in the drill.

“We think (drills) are important and frankly, people, especially in the western United States, are probably going to experience earthquakes in their lifetime,” Michael Conway, Chief of the Geologic Extension Service of the Arizona Geological Survey, said.

While some parts of Arizona do experience earthquakes, Conway said it would be rare for one to be centered in the Phoenix area. He said earthquakes in other parts of the state have been felt in the Valley.

“We are capable of seeing a large magnitude fault, they just happen much more infrequently here,” he said

The earthquake expert said it never hurts to be prepared, just in case you ever feel the earth start to rattle.

“The best thing you can do when the ground starts shaking is get underneath something, hold on to it and stay covered so we think this (drill) is really important,” he said.