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Sonoma City officials did not have an intensity level for the virtual earthquake that shook the Valley at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, but the make-believe temblor did set a hypothetical mobile home on fire, caused what City Manager Linda Kelly described as "massive power outages," and forced the pretend evacuation of a retirement home creating 200 imaginary evacuees.

Some 4,800 students participated in the "Big Rumble" exercise, held on the eve of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale, killed 63 people and caused an estimated $10 billion in damage. Students in area schools practiced the standard "drop, cover and hold" drill, many of them crouching under their desks during the emergency preparedness exercise. Part of a larger Bay Area-wide effort, the City of Sonoma and the Sonoma Disaster Council collaborated with fire, police and other community resources to simulate a disaster that earthquake specialists predict is likely to happen.

According to the latest Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast prepared by the United States Geological Survey, there is a 63-percent chance the Bay Area will experience a major quake of 6.7 magnitude or higher sometime in the next 30 years. That quake will probably occur on one of seven major fault systems crisscrossing the region, including the Rodgers Creek fault that parallels the Sonoma Valley along the flanks of Sonoma Mountain. For Thursday's exercise, community groups, homeowners associations, nonprofit organizations, and schools were invited to register in advance to participate at their workplace, facility or school. Each group was asked to call in to the city's Emergency Operations Center, which was staffed and undertaking its own emergency preparedness exercises, to report on the outcome of their disaster drill.

In all, some 24 organizations and about 6,200 individuals, including the entire Sonoma Valley Unified School District, participated.

Kelly, who oversaw the exercise in a simulated command center at the Police Department's Emergency Operations Center, said she was pleased with the results. "I am extremely encouraged by the high level of participation in our community and the initiative shown by organizations to place a priority on disaster preparedness," she said. "Today's exercise exceeded our expectations and we continue to encourage self-reliance and preparedness. The important message to share is that public resources will be spread thin in the event of an actual disaster, so everyone should take steps now to ensure family, workplace and school readiness to function during and after a major disaster."

Among participating groups were Becoming Independent, Creekside Homeowners' Association, Crescent Montessori School, Pueblo Serena Mobile Home Park, Rancho de Sonoma Mobile Home Park, Sonoma Community Center and Vintage House senior center.

The city provided each group with a "toolkit" including a Red Cross emergency kit to be used for a raffle prize, earthquake preparedness instructions, information on disaster planning for pets and a pocket guide to emergency preparedness.

In the city's Emergency Operations Center, the city's management team practiced its response to earthquake disaster scenarios, including evacuations, fires, and downed power lines, and confirmed the message that communication and information sharing is paramount in the aftermath of any large-scale disaster.

The mission of the Sonoma Disaster Council includes facilitating communication and information regarding resources and contacts relevant to disaster planning, as well as promoting individual preparedness such as the new SCOPE program. Part of the City's Sonoma Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (SCOPE) program is to train neighborhood groups in emergency preparedness procedures, basic first aid and utilities control. Anyone interested in SCOPE training may call the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority at 996-2102.

The Sonoma Disaster Council will de-brief on The Big Rumble at its next regular meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Sonoma Police Station training room.

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