SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — What would you do in the event of an earthquake?
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has invited all Illinoisans to participate Thursday, October 17 at 10:17 A.M. in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut.
The ShakeOut is part of an annual worldwide effort to remind citizens earthquakes can occur at anytime, and a plan should be in place in the event of a tremor, as with any other disaster.
Similar to “stop, drop, and roll” in fire sitautions, IEMA created the “drop, cover, and hold on” steps to remember during earthquakes:
-drop onto the ground on hands and knees.
-cover head and neck with one arm.
-hold onto a sturdy object until the quake is over.
Tazewell County EMA Director Dawn Cook said earthquakes can happen just like any other disaster.
“We do fire drills, we do tornado drills, but this is another drill you can add to your cadre of things people should be prepared for,” she said.
“Earthquakes happen at times when you least expect it.
“When we have severe weather coming in, we can look at radar so we sort of know, but sometimes earthquakes can happen at a moment’s notice.”
Illinois is surrounded by two large seismic zones: New Madrid and Wabash Valley.
Around 2,000,000 people have registered for the ShakeOut.
Registration can be completed HERE.
http://www.shakeout.org/centralus
