The state of California will carry out the largest earth quake drill in United States history on Thursday. More than 5 million people of the state will be involved in the drill meant to teach California’s residents how to react when earth quake strikes. Earth quakes are a big threat to California.

The drill will be carried out considering that a magnitude-7.8 tremor hypothetically hit California. Such a quake, which experts anticipate and call the “Big One,” would cause more than 1,800 deaths and $200 billion in damage and would also rupture the southern San Andreas Fault.

The Californian authorities have carried out several other earth quake drills, but none of those compares with this one. Governments, schools, hospitals, churches, businesses and residents will reportedly take part and test their preparedness for catastrophe like this one.

"We're trying to make it a communal event," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones.

The earth quake drill will commence at 10 a.m. today. At that time people in Southern California will drop to the ground, roll under the nearest table and spend the next two minutes clutching a table leg.

The drill is reportedly the central part of a weeklong series of events called the Great Southern California ShakeOut. The events are meant to show the state’s residents what they must do when a powerful tremor strikes in order to have better chances of survival.

Authorities believe the series of drills is of paramount importance because the Californians haven’t experienced a major earth quake since 1994 so they wouldn’t know what to do.

"Ninety-five percent of all victims are rescued by other victims," said earthquake scientist Lucy Jones, coordinator of the U.S. Geological Survey's Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project.

California is the most seismically active state in the Lower 48. There are 46% chances that a major earth quake would hit the state in the next 30 years. The most likely epicenter would be Southern California, the USGS calculated.