Drill set to prepare people for quakes

The Great ShakeOut might sound like a dance, but despite its playful name, the event has a more serious purpose.

The Great ShakeOut earthquake drills will be at 10:16 a.m. local time Thursday across the country. At that time, individuals, families, schools and offices are encouraged to go through steps they would take in the event of an earthquake, or at least take a moment to discuss an action plan.

More than 40 states are at risk of an earthquake, yet a recent survey by the Federal Emergency Management Agency found that fewer than 1 in 3 adults participated in an earthquake drill within the past year. Missouri and Illinois are among the 16 states with the highest risk of experiencing damaging ground shaking from an earthquake.

The nationwide drill is a way to remind young and old of the potential for an earthquake to occur and what steps people can take to protect themselves, said Mark Hasheider, Cape Girardeau Fire Department assistant chief and emergency management coordinator. It also helps strike up the conversation of being prepared for natural disasters in general, he said.

When it comes to earthquake safety, many people "know the drill" from days of ducking under desks in school, but Hasheider said people don't always follow that advice.

"If an earthquake was to occur, they would need to drop, take cover and hold on," he said. " ... We have seen from other earthquakes that people, once the earthquake was to occur, try to evacuate the building. And we find that more injuries occur from trying to exit a building rather than if they were to drop, take cover and hold on."

Many adults may not feel they need to go through the steps of taking cover in a drill, but Hasheider said it still was important to be prepared. Think about your surroundings at work and home to determine whether it's possible to lessen the effect of an earthquake, he said. He also pointed out an earthquake wouldn't have to be a significant one to cause items to fall from shelves or cause free-standing items such as filing cabinets to fall over.

"We would encourage people to, at the very least, Thursday morning, to look around and try to go through the steps they would go through if there was an earthquake: Hide under their desk, see what things would not be secure in the area that could cause them a problem," Hasheider said.

He also encouraged families to take Thursday as an opportunity to discuss an action plan that would be put into place after an earthquake. Hasheider said such plans should consider whether families have enough supplies at home to be self-sufficient for three days and whether they have a plan to meet at a specified location in the event they are separated.

"Communicate Thursday evening about what steps you have in place and write down a to-do list," Hasheider said. "All those to-dos may not be completed that week, but if you are able to accomplish one or two of them by this time next year, you'll be that much further ahead."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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