The state of Arizona started a full-scale, three-and-a-half-day-long exercise Monday to prepare for a mass exodus of Californians in the event of a catastrophic earthquake. Beginning at 1 p.m., more than 1,000 participants from government agencies, volunteer organizations, and the private sector will play out the scenario of a major earthquake rattling Southern California, triggering a mass migration of
400,000 evacuees to Arizona. “We’re looking at what are we doing for mass shelter and what might we have to do to feed all these people,” says Judy Kioski, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA). Kioski says another important issue to explore is ” family reunification.” “If it was a massive earthquake, maybe there are people who left and who can’t get in touch with their relatives and they’ve come this way due to road closures,” Kioski says. READ MORE
