Local schools participating in earthquake preparedness efforts

Betty Spalding, principal at St. Joseph School in Scott City, likes being in control of her surroundings.

But, when an earthquake strikes, like the minor one she experienced in Southeast Missouri in 1990, she knows she has to give that up and it's scary, she said.

"It happens so fast you kind of wonder how prepared you can be," said Spalding, the school's principal for nine years. "But, it's not an option, you still have to be [prepared]."

Spalding's school of 32 students has joined 240 schools in Missouri registered thus far to participate April 28 in the Great Central U.S. Shakeout, an eight-state earthquake drill focused on helping schools practice proper methods to stay safe during a disaster.

Mark Winkler, State Emergency Management Agency Region E coordinator, discussed the event Wednesday in Cape Girardeau at a District Safety Committee meeting.

"One of the things that came of an early emphasis on earthquake preparedness was state legislation that requires schools in 47 counties, particularly in the Bootheel and along the rivers, to practice an earthquake drill twice a year," Winkler said. "We're asking schools to practice the drop, cover and hold method for 60 seconds."

With recent earthquake activity in Japan, Spalding said it was important for the school, educating students up to eighth grade, to commit to the drill.

Older students, she said, have been discussing the effects of the disaster in an open forum, but the younger students have been learning simply how to stay calm and safe.

"We decided to participate because we feel like children need to be prepared for an earthquake with us living on the New Madrid fault line," Spalding said. Students "were concerned themselves about having an earthquake, what kind of things they should do and what kind of things teachers should do."

And like schools in Cape Girardeau County and throughout Southeast Missouri, St. Joseph has implemented a plan to keep as safe as possible if a serious earthquake were to occur in the area.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the 1811 earthquake along the New Madrid fault line.

According to a 2005 Cape Girardeau County hazard mitigation plan, earthquakes that measure at 2.5 or 3 on the Richter scale are felt annually in Southeast Missouri.

An earthquake of 5.0 or greater happens once per decade on the New Madrid fault and an event that measures 6.0 or greater has a 25 to 40 percent chance of occurring in a 50-year time span.

An earthquake of a 7.5 magnitude has a 10 percent chance of happening by 2050.

"I worry about everybody, but I worry about the Cape County schools the least," said Richard Knaup, county emergency manager. "They've got good plans in place. I think they've gone the extra mile."

In addition to participating in drills twice a year, Knaup said 115 staff members in the Cape Girardeau County School District are trained as Community Emergency Response Team personnel. He said Jackson also offers the program to school faculty and have purchased emergency water filters in preparation of an emergency.

"In a worst-case scenario, if the water supply is ruined, there's a creek that runs behind the high school. The filters are good enough to provide drinking water or it could be used for first-aid treatment," Knaup said.

At St. Joseph, Spalding said staff members have established a chain of command in case of an emergency and have also designated a safety zone if an evacuation of the building is ordered.

"What our plan is to take them away from the building and all the power lines," she said. "Someone will also make a call to parents, so they know their child is safe."

Staff go over the plan at the beginning of each year, Spalding added, and have recently made a small change -- establishing a contact, other than the parents, for each student.

To register or to learn more about the April 28 earthquake exercise, visit www.shakeout.org/centralus/missouri.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

606 Sycamore St., Scott City, MO

2302 Militia Drive, Jefferson City, MO