How BART's Earthquake Response Team is preparing for the next 'Big One'

Find BART's earthquake safety tips here .

When a big earthquake strikes the Bay Area, BART is ready with a series of stringent protocols and a specially trained team that's prepared to dispatch the moment after a quake hits to assess the system and ensure it's safe to run.

BART is an industry leader when it comes to preparing and mitigating the impacts of major earthquakes. BART was an early adopter of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System that gives us an alert before ground shaking happens. Read more about the system here.

BART also recently completed its Earthquake Safety Program (ESP). The ESP was instigated in the early 2000s and included a major retrofit of the Transbay Tube, which some engineers consider one of the safest places to be during a big earthquake.

Though the project is complete, BART engineers never let their guards down when it comes to earthquakes, and the recent Great ShakeOut earthquake drill is an example of the lengths BART takes to be prepared. BART knows its importance in the wake of major earthquakes. After the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, when the Bay Bridge collapsed and BART was up and running within hours, the region witnessed how BART is as a transportation lifeline for the SF Bay Area during major disasters.

"Re-establishing train services quickly after a major earthquake is essential for regional emergency response and economic recovery. One key element of making this happen is prompt assessment and reporting of structure conditions throughout the system," said Phoebe Cheng, Engineering Group Manager.

BART Principal Structural Engineer Alvin Tsui leads the Earthquake Response Team (ERT) with support from Engineer Recy Calma. Their goal is to train employees and continuously improve BART's post-earthquake inspection procedures.

The ERT consists of around sixty engineers and thirty maintenance employees that fan out across the system in the advent of a major earthquake, defined as an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater with an epicenter within 50 miles of the BART system. Since its inception, the ERT has never been activated for a real event, but they train throughout the year to prepare for the real possibility of a massive earthquake rattling the Bay Area.

The Great ShakeOut is the ERT's big show. Once the international earthquake drill commences at 10:16am, BART staff hit the ground running. The first step is triggering the ShakeAlert early warning earthquake system, which signals trains to automatically slow to 27mph before briefly stopping. During the drill, BART also tests its internal communications systems while the Operations Control Center ensures the train control systems are working properly.

Meanwhile, ERT members travel to all 50 stations to conduct structural assessments, simulating damage inspections that would occur during a real earthquake. They inspect walkways, support structures, elevators, escalators - anything that could sustain damage in a powerful earthquake.

The Great ShakeOut simulation is designed to exercise "muscle memory" for BART's earthquake response as well as identifying areas for improvement.

Safety is BART's mission above all, and the practiced ERT is crucial for getting service up and running quickly.

The team focuses their observations on stations and aerial structures. They're looking for physical damage - cracks, leaning, displacement, unevenness, and foundation damage - as well as issues like station power outages, falling signage, and water intrusion.

Members of the ERT can be activated at any time, and staff volunteer to join the team. Every ERT member is issued two big backpacks full of supplies they might need, from batteries and measuring tools to safety vests and protein bars. One backpack stays at their house: the other in their office. See what's in their bags in the video.

It's honorable to be a member of the ERT, who have signed themselves up to prioritize the safety of their community during a major disaster. Calma wanted to be a part of the ERT after witnessing big earthquakes while living in the Philippines.

"I was hesitant to join at first - it's a lot of responsibility," she said. "But as an engineer, your goal is to serve the public."

Added Tsui: "As an employee at a public agency, we are the heart of regional emergency response. As members of the ERT, we want to serve the community and help keep them safe during emergencies."