Disaster Drill Held As Part Of San Francisco's Fleet Week Kickoff Events
SAN FRANCISCO -- Fleet Week 2019 is officially underway in San Francisco, with events planned around the City all week long.
On Monday, emergency responders were at the forefront of the festivities.
When something bad happens in San Francisco, help is going to come from the sea, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter Gautier.
Monday's events included a disaster drill of a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hitting the City, focusing on how local, state, and federal officials plan to respond and how they would get rid of the rubble left behind.
Its a coordination of all of our partners, so every year we want to rotate the themes, explained Victor Lim with the SF Department of Emergency Management. We want to be ready and practiced. We don't want to exchange business cards during an emergency.
They have been planning the drill for six months, mapping out how to quickly set up satellites for communication and solar panels to power equipment.
In true San Francisco fashion, city officials even set up a booth to show how all the debris will not just be thrown in a landfill.
A lot of material that's considered debris can actually be recovered to make new products, said Soko Made with the SF Department of the Environment.
It was just one aspect of preparing for disaster while all of these high-profile resources are gathered in the Bay.
"When it happens, not only do we need to go into action with our local officials, we need our state and federal officials to help us in this work," said Mayor London Breed, who was attending the event.
People who are coming into San Francisco for Fleet Week who want to receive text alerts from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management can text FLEETWEEKSF to 888-777 to sign up.
For more information on Fleet Week activities happening through the weekend, visit the official San Francisco Fleet Week website.