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“I think we need to get under the desk…”

Alarmed news anchors take cover when a 7.1 quake shook Southern California.

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News anchors on KCAL9 were alarmed when a 7.1 quake shook Southern California on Friday night.

“This is a rather strong quake,” Sharon Donchey said. “8:21 on the air here, we’re experiencing very strong shaking… I think we need to get under the desk.”

Co-anchor Juan Fernandez threw to a break as the pair took cover.

It was the second shake in 2 days, with Disneyland forced to shut rides for safety but a Dodgers game continuing after a short lull.

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  2. In New Zealand (and, I assume other earthquake-prone places such as California and Japan), you get taught “earthquake drill” in primary school, to get under your desk and cover your head. It’s standard operating procedure. As adults, and being used to feeling quakes, you usually find yourself assessing it (as they did in the clip) before deciding whether the tremor actually warrants doing it.

  3. A studio is not like a regular office. A lot of large heavy fragile items hang from the ceiling or are suspended on poles that could easily fall on top of them, shatter, or electrify. There is a unique vulnerability in that environment.

    1. Thank you for that insight….it was not something I thought about watching this, yesterday…even more scary than I thought. ..?

    1. I was in LA in October 1987 when KNBC news man Kent Shocknek dove under the desk during the Whittier Earthquake. David Letterman rode off the comedy for days/weeks. He would occasionally pause on his late night show and go under the desk, and they would play a clip of the Channel 4 newscast. Interesting point about the mind boggling and the seriousness of it. Locals were in tears wondering about their family, but as a tourist I found it an interesting (if not exciting) event at the time.

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