We got up very early, we dressed in 1906 style, and we joined our fellow San Franciscans in commemorating one of the most significant natural disasters in California’s history. Please enjoy DEM’s photographs documenting our participation in an annual ritual filled with camaraderie and San Francisco pride. Special note of appreciation, acknowledgment and thanks to Michael Mustacchi for photographing this special event.

April 18^th marks the 107^th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Although very few of us have a first-hand memory of what remains one of California’s most significant catastrophes, every April many of us think about the what ifs with regard to earthquakes.

Deputy Director Rob Dudgeon talks to the Bay Area's KGO-7 about Tsunami Preparedness. San Francisco plans for all emergencies including Tsunamis. For tips on how to prepare for tsunami or any disaster visit www.72hours.org. You can also see if you live or work in a Tsunami Inundation Zone.

Take steps towards community preparedness and join us for our first ever SF Tsunami Walk Saturday, March 30th at 10:00 am. Bring your family, invite your friends and meet your neighbors and find out what to do in case of a tsunami, which is to walk UP to higher ground.

Nothing grabs headlines like fear. In some circles, yesterday’s earthquake in Southern California was cast as a foreshock to the apocalypse. Cue the scenes of a volcano erupting in Los Angeles and an asteroid hurling towards earth. Somebody better call Tommy Lee Jones and Bruce Willis because we need a hero!

Are we scared yet? Okay, now let’s all take a step back from the ledge.

By Anne Kronenberg, Executive Director, Department of Emergency Management 

We think it’s a safe bet that many of us plan our Sunday night around AMC’s The Walking Dead. SPOILER ALERT! Do you think Andrea is really going to take out the Governor? 

Sure, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (SFDEM) is a government agency, but that doesn't mean we aren't into social innovation.

I’ll admit it, I breathed a silly sigh of relief when I woke up (intact) December 22^nd having called bluff on the Mayan calendar’s end of the world deadline. And about ½ a second later, I was on to my holiday to-do list and to life as usual.

We are looking back on the DEM's team to visit Van, Turkey and the series of blogs and videos chronicling their experience.