The New Zealand ShakeOut is fast approaching their goal of 1,000,000 participants.

According to their website, over 970,000 people have already signed up to “Drop, Cover and Hold” during the countrywide earthquake drill at 9:26 am on 26-09-2012.

To sign up, you can go to www.getthru.govt.nz or the drill’s dedicated website at http://www.shakeout.govt.nz/.  There is also a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/NzGetThru.  You can also follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nzgetthru

Everyone is encouraged to get involved.  The website has a wide range of resources to help you get ready to participate in the drill.  Individuals, schools, clubs, community groups and many other organisations will find customised ideas on how to participate.

Meanwhile, as New Zealand prepares for the world’s first nationwide ShakeOut earthquake drill, a global initiative seeks to get people ready for disasters with an online game.

In the United States, September is disaster preparedness month.  A regional emergency services agency in the state of Washington has brought it to the international stage by launching a disaster preparedness game called “30 Days, 30 Ways”, located at www.30days30ways.com.

Participants are asked to complete a daily “preparedness task” worth points.  Each task will come with directions on how to submit your answer via email, website comment at www.30days30ways.com, Facebook Fan Page (www.facebook.com/30days30ways) or via Twitter to @30Days_30Ways.

The tasks do not need to be completed on the day they are initially assigned, but they do need to be completed before the end of the month.

Whoever earns the most points from the daily challenges will be identified as the winner of the game.   Beyond personal bragging rights, there are some prizes donated to the game that will be awarded to the games top competitors.

However, since this is a game based in the United States, it’s unclear if any alternatives are available if there is a winner outside the US.

Game rules and information can be found on the website at www.30days30ways.com.

**Updated information**  Prizes will be shipped to international winners.

By WeatherWatch.co.nz Analyst Howard Joseph

You can follow Howard on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HJosephWX