Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Helps Prepare for Earthquake

CLINTON, Ind. -- Drop. Cover. Hold on!

Those are the directives for the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, a multi-state earthquake drill that happened Tuesday morning.

Employees of the Walmart store in Clinton were among thousands of drill participants dropping to the floor at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday and grabbing the nearest stable item.

"We often drill for fires or tornados, but we don't drill for earthquakes," said store manager Misty Roskovensky to Mark O'Heir, director of the Vermillion County Emergency Management Agency.

Not many businesses, schools or individuals do practice earthquake drills, O'Heir agreed. Last year, schools were the target for the inaugural ShakeOut, which teaches people to "drop, cover and hold on" to protect themselves and to prevent earthquake disasters from becoming catastrophes.

Arvin Copeland, director of emergency response and recovery for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, was at the Walmart store to talk about the emergency preparedness kits that families should have in their home in case of a natural disaster, such as a storm, terrorist attack or earthquake.

"If something catastrophic does happen, first responders can't get to everyone at first," Copeland said. "We're asking everyone to be prepared to self-sustain for the first 72 hours following a disaster."

Food and water are obvious items to put into preparedness kits, he said. Other items include flashlights and batteries, first aid kits, pet food for animals, diapers and formula for young children, and vital medications.

The State of Indiana partnered with several other states -- including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee -- for the drill. Tuesday's event was organized on the 200th anniversary of the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes that caused widespread devastation throughout the Midwest. More than 2 million people signed up to participate in Tuesday's drill, and Indiana had the most registrants with a half-million people signing up.

"We certainly feel like we will be prepared," said Emily Norcross, public information officer for the state's homeland security office.

One important point of the drill is to get people to stay where they are when an earthquake strikes, Norcross said. The initial reaction for a person may be to exit a building to escape falling debris. But that is the wrong thing to do.

"The majority of injuries occur when people enter or leave buildings during an earthquake," she said. "That's when things are coming down from the roof."

It is best to stay outside, or to stay indoors, but not to enter or leave a building until the quake has stopped and objects have stopped falling.

During the drill with Walmart store employees, O'Heir noted that inside buildings, ceiling tiles will likely fall to the floor. Another danger will be the metal gridwork holding the tiles in place, since those metal pieces will also fall and can cut people lying on the ground. That is why finding cover, such as under a desk or a shelf, is a good way to avoid falling debris.

O'Heir went over a checklist with store manager Roskovensky to see how the store stacks up for earthquake preparedness. She already had a list of employees with special skills and capabilities, such as first aid and CPR, and had personnel records with family contacts, schools, doctors and medical needs. The store passed its checklist.

More information about earthquake preparedness is available online at www.shakeout.org/centralus.

Copyright 2012 - The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service