SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The government shutdown is forcing changes to San Francisco’s Fleet Week.
Since 2011, the event has included a large-scale earthquake drill — bringing together military and local agencies to test disaster response.
But this year, federal and military support is limited.
The drill took place Tuesday at Piers 30/32.
Multiple agencies and private companies participated, preparing for a catastrophic event, the scenario was a major, 7.8 earthquake.
The exercise focused on how San Francisco would keep communication lines open and supplies moving in the aftermath of a catastrophic event.
Crews from San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, Fire, Police, and several other agencies joined state and private partners like AT&T and PG&E.
The drill simulates the kind of coordination that would be needed if a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit.
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The teams tested how different systems talk to each other when traditional networks go down.
Though they did it without federal partners, the Department of Emergency Management said the drill still went well.
“The folks that you see here today are the folks that are going to be first on scene when there’s an emergency and the last ones to leave,” said Doris Padilla, Deputy Director of Emergency Services for Department of Emergency Management, “So while we’re disappointed and sad that our federal military partners can’t join us, I feel like we understand what they would be doing here today if they were here. So the show must go on, and we have to keep practicing.”
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Each year the exercises test something different, like how to transport first responder and disaster service workers
“It may be a little bit different next year, the theme is always an earthquake, because we like to look at a catastrophe but our partners are always changing. So they’re always new people to meet. There’s always new systems to test and new themes to really think about,” Padilla said.
The Department of Emergency Management said that even in the government shutdown, it still feels prepared to handle an emergency.
It said that when a disaster strikes, they first work through San Francisco system, then regional and state partners before they go to the federal government so at the moment it feels that it is in a strong place.
Click here for the latest stories and videos about earthquakes here in the Bay Area and around the world, and click here for more information on disaster preparedness.
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