The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with FEMA and Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), will host a free QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop at The Centre for local businesses and organizations on Wednesday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Lunch will be included. While the event is free, advance registration is required at santa-clarita.com/QuakeSmart.

At this workshop, participants will be introduced to the QuakeSmart Community Resilience Program and learn how to identify risks, develop a plan and take proactive action in the event of an earthquake.

Instructors will delve into the topics of business continuity, disaster response, and the cost benefit of preparing for earthquakes and other business interruptions. Preparedness and mitigation actions, including an assessment to begin planning for retrofitting projects, will also be shared.

“The city is encouraging businesses to be proactive with earthquake preparedness,” said John Caprarelli, from the city’s Building and Safety division. “There are many ways to improve earthquake response, and we want to help local businesses realize the benefits of retrofitting.

“Doing preventative work like bracing ceilings and anchoring storage racks may cost you now, but it can save you a lot more in the long run,” he said. “If there’s an earthquake and it interrupts your ability to run your business, it can easily cost thousands of dollars per day.”

In addition, the city’s Building and Safety division will also be expediting their building permit process at no additional cost for businesses that choose to retrofit under this program.

The city of Santa Clarita is adopting the program as a result of the city’s participation in SCAG, the Southern California Association for Governments.

The workshop will take place in the Sycamore Meeting Room at The Centre, 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway, Santa Clarita 91350.

For more information about the workshop, visit santa-clarita.com/QuakeSmart or email Mike Rimoldi at Mike@flash.org.