In two weeks communities throughout the state will take part in the Great Washington ShakeOut — part of the nation’s largest earthquake exercise.

Last year, more than 1 million Washington residents signed up to practice earthquake readiness during the annual earthquake drill. This year, the drill will be held at 10:18 a.m. on Oct. 18. The state is poised to hit at least 1 million registrations again this year, according to a press release from the Washington Emergency Management Division.

Many more likely will participate. People and organizations can sign up to participate online at www.shakeout.org/washington. Registration isn’t required but it helps the state tally how many people have participated.

“Practicing drop, cover and hold on skills on a regular basis builds muscle memory so when an earthquake does hit, you’ll know instinctively what to do,” said Robert Ezelle, director of Washington Emergency Management Division. “We also want residents to take a look at your emergency kits. It’s important that you’re two weeks ready, not just for earthquakes, but big storms and power outages.”

Earthquake experts from Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, Washington Emergency Management Division, Washington Department of Natural Resources and FEMA Region X will be on hand for a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” – an online question and answer session starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 11. The public can ask questions through an online forum www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/. A Facebook Live question and answer session also will happen at about the same time online at www.facebook.com/WashEMD/.

For the first time, all of the coastal sirens in Washington state will be tested at 10:18 a.m. on Oct. 18 using the real sound of the siren, not the Westminster Chimes that typically happen during the monthly tests. During previous ShakeOut drills, some jurisdictions had opted out, but all of the sirens will activate this year.

The Washington Emergency Management Division also is encouraging participants to take photos of themselves participating in the drill, and to post those photos to social media using the hashtag #ShakeOut or tag the Twitter account @waShakeOut.