|
 In April of
this year, communities throughout the CUSEC Member States (Alabama, Arkansas,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee) and
Associate States of Georgia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, took part in the
largest earthquake preparedness effort in this region’s history, the Great
Central U.S. ShakeOut. With planning
taking place over the past two years, the ShakeOut was a multi-state earthquake
drill where participants simultaneously practiced the recommended action to take during an earthquake.
The ShakeOut
has been promoted as a way for the general public to get prepared and take
actions before the next damaging earthquake strikes. It was promoted through a central website,
where people were encouraged to register and pledge their participation to take
part in the drill. Participants were
asked to use resources on the website such as: drill manuals, broadcasts, scenarios, and safety information to help
develop their plans for being more prepared against earthquakes.
The Memphis City School district in
Memphis, Tennessee took the lead in this
educational preparedness campaign by conducting their district-wide earthquake
drill at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, March 11, which was, by coincidence, just hours
after the devastating M9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Indiana held their earthquake drills at
10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19, due to conflicts with in school testing
schedules. More than 600,000 in the Hoosier State participated in the ShakeOut
drill.
Leading up to the ShakeOut, which was
scheduled for April 28, there were a number of storms, floods, and devastating
tornadoes which caused widespread
destruction and killed hundreds of people in several states. Many who originally intended to participate
in the ShakeOut were forced to alter their plans because of the real-world
disasters. Those who could continue with
their plans were encouraged to do so. CUSEC continues to offer our thoughts and prayers to those who have been
affected by these tragic events.
For those who were able, many drills
were held at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, April 28. There were several media and press conference events held at locations
in the states, and in all, more than 3 Million (including those in Indiana)
across nearly 10,000 sites were expected to participate in the event. One of the higher profile media events held
in the states was in St. Louis, Missouri at Carnahan High School of the
Future.
At this event, U.S. Dept. of Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary Arne Duncan observed
students and staff participate in the ShakeOut and held a question and answer
session, which was broadcast across the entire school. Also attending the event were Missouri
Governor Jay Nixon and U.S. Congressman Russ Carnahan. Each emphasized the importance of preparing
for any kind of disaster, even those that we do face every day.
Despite
the recent challenges of the ongoing disasters in the region, the ShakeOut can
still be considered a success as it achieved the goals of:
- Engaging millions of people across
all sectors in earthquake and disaster preparedness activities
- Increasing earthquake readiness among
the citizens in the region
- Causing people to take action towards
being prepared for disasters
The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut has
been modeled after similar efforts in California, where ShakeOut drills have
been held each year since 2008. CUSEC
has worked closely with the Southern California Earthquake Center and the
Earthquake Country Alliance to develop the central U.S. ShakeOut effort. It was also linked event of the New Madrid
Bicentennial and the National Level (Earthquake) Exercise 2011 (NLE 2011) and
was coordinated by CUSEC and our Member and Associate States, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey and dozens of other partners
throughout the country. There are too
many names to list individually, but we would like to thank the thousands of
individuals in the region for their efforts in making this event a
success.
To read more about the ShakeOut, including stories and news
about the recent drills held throughout the region, visit www.shakeout.org/centralus
Clockwise from the top:
1. Students at Carnahan High
School of the Future in St. Louis, Missouri practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On
during the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut on April 28, 2011 (CUSEC File Photo);
2. L to R: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and U.S.
Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano field student questions
at Carnahan High School during the ShakeOut (CUSEC File Photo); 3. Members of the Jackson Township Fire
Department participate in the ShakeOut in Nashville, Indiana (Photo Courtesy
Glenn Elmore) 4. Students at Tekoppel School in Evansville,
Indiana take part during a safety assembly during the ShakeOut on April 19,
2011 (CUSEC File Photo) |
