USGS & Clear Channel Outdoor Launch Earthquake Preparedness Campaign Reminding Californians To Prepare For Inevitable Earthquakes

Los Angeles, Calif. – The U.S. Geological Survey and Clear Channel Outdoor today announced a partnership to provide the public with critical earthquake safety information during April. In support of the campaign, CCO is donating space on digital billboards throughout the Southland to help spread this important message and encourage Californians to prepare before it’s too late.

The billboards direct SoCal residents to visit the Earthquake Country Alliance’s website at EarthquakeCountry.org, where they can learn techniques for preparing before an earthquake, surviving during one, and recovering after a tremor. The USGS is an active leader in the ECA, which is a statewide public-private partnership of people, organizations, and regional alliances that work together to improve preparedness, mitigation and resiliency. The advertisements will run through the month of April.

“Almost everyone could make their family, home or business safer through retrofitting their buildings, securing their space or other proactive steps to prepare themselves, their families, and their homes for the next earthquakes,” said Lucy Jones, Science Advisor for Risk Reduction at USGS. “We’re pleased to join Clear Channel Outdoor in spreading this important public safety message to residents throughout Southern California. By placing these messages on digital billboards region-wide we can be sure that communication reaches residents and reminds them that ‘we are all in this together,’ and we each need to do our part to protect our whole community." 

Southern California has the highest earthquake risk of any region in the United States. Not only is the area bisected by the San Andreas Fault, which is capable of producing very large quakes, but is also crisscrossed by many other faults capable of producing large and damaging tremors. While many have been warned of the “big one,” quakes of lesser magnitude, including the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, can and have caused significant damage, making it imperative that residents are proactively prepared for the potentially devastating aftermath of an emergency earthquake situation.

“We live in a high-risk region, yet we often forget that the next big earthquake could be right around the corner. During this year’s Earthquake Preparedness Month, we are urging citizens to take action and prepare by planning ahead and arming themselves with knowledge,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander, who represents the Northridge community. “I’m pleased to see the USGS and Clear Channel Outdoor bringing this important message to Angelenos and encourage citizens who see the message to take proactive steps to protect themselves.”

The USGS and CCO-led campaign encourages the public to seek additional information about earthquake safety to ensure they are prepared for tremors in the quake-prone Southern California region. This earthquake preparedness campaign is not the first time CCO has partnered with organizations to help drive awareness about the importance of earthquake preparedness, as CCO previously participated in similar earthquake preparedness campaigns surrounding the anniversary of the Northridge Earthquake.

“Southern California is a hotbed for quakes, making it ever more critical that residents take proactive steps to prepare for emergency earthquake situations,” said Layne Lawson, director of public affairs for Clear Channel Outdoor. “Clear Channel Outdoor is proud to join USGS in the effort to communicate this critical message to the Southland community and assist with this important public safety effort. We are pleased that our digital billboards will play a role in the emergency preparedness of the region and are glad to lend our resources to urge Californians to properly safeguard their families and homes.”

The unique ability of digital signs to reach a wide audience while displaying messages in real-time allows them to act as valuable resources in the fight against crimes, like human trafficking, that occur around us every day. CCO has routinely lent these tools to support real time, life-saving messaging like AMBER Alerts, FBI and U.S. Marshall Wanted notices and emergency notifications.  The boards are also a useful tool for non-profit organizations, public safety agencies, law enforcement and a variety of others who need to effectively relay messages to the public.