All City Employees Encouraged to Participate in the Great Central U.S. Shakeout

Earthquake drill will take place on Thursday, April 28 at 10:15 a.m.

April 27, 2011 | 2 min reading time

This article is 13 years old. It was published on April 27, 2011.

All City of St. Louis employees are encouraged to participate in the “Great Shakeout” exercise on Thursday, April 28 by practicing either an awareness or response exercise within their departments. The “Great Shakeout” will begin at 10:15 a.m. and conclude at the time each agency feels they have completed their part of the drill. The Shakeout is our opportunity to practice how to protect ourselves during earthquakes.

An earthquake striking either the New Madrid or WabashValley faults impacting the City of St. Louis is a real threat, and we need to be prepared. In April of 2008 we were awoken by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake from the Wabash Valley Fault that caused minimal damage across the area.

Federal, state, and local emergency management experts and other official preparedness organizations all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is the appropriate action to take to reduce injury and death during earthquakes. Official rescue teams who have been dispatched to the scene of earthquakes and other disasters around the world continue to advocate use of this internationally recognized protocol to protect lives during earthquakes.

The tips to remember in the event of an earthquake are: DROP to the ground (before the earthquake drops you!), take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and HOLD ON to it until the shaking stops.

If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building. Do not try to run to another room just to get under a table.

The Great Central U.S. Shakeout is being organized by the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and its member states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee to educate Americans on what they can do to be better prepared for earthquakes.

For questions about the City of St. Louis participation in this multi-state earthquake drill, contact the City Emergency Management Agency at (314) 622-3501.

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