More than 1,000 earthquakes hit the state of Washington each year, a dozen of them powerful enough that residents can feel the ground shaking. That makes International ShakeOut Day a day worth paying attention to.

International ShakeOut Day is October 16 this year — the day when people around the globe are supposed to put their earthquake survival skills to the test. At 10:16 in the morning on ShakeOut Day, we are supposed to DROP to the ground, seek to COVER ourselves from falling objects, and HOLD ON to something solid while the ground trembles.

Based on estimates from the organizers of ShakeOut Day, 1.5 million Washington residents will take part in the event (a near record), plus 51,000 more in neighboring Idaho. Nationwide, more than 18 million Americans will participate, for a grand total of more than 50 million people worldwide. Register at www.shakeout.org.

Two things add to the importance of this year's ShakeOut.

First are warnings that ‘the big one’ could prove far more devastating than previously expected. The Big One is a reference to what would occur when a quake hits the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a fault running just offshore from California to Canada. Scientists have worried for years about just how damaging such a quake could be. New studies suggest the fault is much more extensive and much more complex than previously suspected.

Second, there is no telling when the Big One might actually occur. Past quakes along the fault have happened roughly every 300 years. Based on that, another fault is overdue.

While still notoriously difficult to predict, new research may finally give scientists the ability to forecast quakes with some degree of accuracy. It involves a device called a "distributed acoustic sensing interrogator” that fires a laser through fiber optic cables. It then senses how the laser light quivers or bends as it returns to its source.

How the device actually works is highly complex. It is early days yet, but researchers are hopeful for the ability to predict when quakes will occur and how strong they will be. James Atterholt, a research geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey, says “This shows that there is potential to improve earthquake early warning alerts with telecom fibers.”Until that day arrives, it makes sense to stick with what earthquake safety measures are available here and now. That brings us back to ShakeOut Day.

In truth, you can run through the drill anytime you want. Try it with your family the next time you put them through a fire drill charting ways out of your home should there be a fire and you must escape. Do a community-wide drill when you and your neighbors meet as homeowner associations or to make community safety plans.

To conduct the drill for real, drop to solid ground if you feel the earth quaking. Take cover, meaning crawl under something solid (a stout table, for instance), so nothing falls on your head during the quake. Then take firm hold of something solid so you aren’t shaken about by the quake.

There is a great deal more you can do to minimize the earthquake danger than practicing your drop, cover and hold on drill. That would involve increasing your home’s defenses against quake damage.

First, make sure tall objects don't topple over when the earth shakes. Strap water heaters to the wall so they don’t tip. Bolt bookcases, cabinets and the like to the wall so they stay put in a quake. Store heavy objects on lower shelves so they don't drop on anyone’s head. Use heavy-duty fasteners on cabinet doors so objects don’t shake out. Make sure there are no heavy objects hanging over beds, so nothing drops on you if the quake hits at night.

Finally, pick an area without windows and with nothing heavy hanging on the walls to use as the area for your drop, cover and hold on drills. Retreat to this safety zone at the first tremble. Stay there holding on until you are certain the quake is truly over.

Like with any other skill, practice makes perfect and takes the mystery out of how to respond to an earthquake. Anything that helps your family or neighborhood or business be safe in a potentially violent quake is worth spending a little time on. Join the Great ShakeOut this year!