Hazard · Drop, cover, hold on
Earthquake
Arizona is not California. It is also not zero. The action in the first seconds is the same.
Federal steps in this chapter do not change by state. Local orders for Arizona come from Arizona Department of Emergency Management.
5 min read · Updated October 2026
The first seconds
Ready.gov and the ShakeOut campaign teach one action: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Get down before the quake knocks you down. Cover under a sturdy table, and hold on to it. If there is no table, get down next to an interior wall and cover your head and neck. Stay away from windows and anything that can fall. Do not run outside during the shaking. Do not stand in a doorway because it used to be folk advice. It is not the plan.
If you are in bed, stay there and cover your head with a pillow. If you are driving, pull over smoothly, set the brake, and wait. If you are outside, move to a clear spot away from buildings, wires, and trees.
After
Expect aftershocks. USGS is the source for what just happened and what the local hazard is. Check yourself and the people next to you. If you smell gas or hear hissing, shut the gas off if you can do it without creating a spark, and leave it off until a qualified person turns it back on. Text family instead of calling. Use the stairs if you must leave a damaged building. The comeback sheet covers re-entry. Arizona’s risk is lower than the West Coast’s and it is not imaginary. USGS maps are the reference, not a neighbor’s memory of 1970.
Checklist
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Sources
Public pages this chapter leans on. They win if anything here is out of date.
- Ready.gov — Earthquakes
Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- USGS Earthquakes
Hazard maps and event information
- ShakeOut
The international drop-cover-hold-on drill