On Oct. 16 at 10:16 am, there will be a nationwide earthquake drill that anyone is welcome to join. The University of Memphis has selected to participate.
The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is an initiative sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Science Foundation in order to better prepare the Central United States for possible earthquake threats.
According to Chuck Langston, the director of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, small earthquakes happen daily.
“There is a 7 to 10 percent chance a large destructive earthquake will happen within the next 50 to 100 years,” Langston said.
The last earthquake felt in Memphis happened in 2005, and the last one to cause noticeable damage happened in1977.
Shakeout.org lists the do's and don’ts of earthquake preparedness.
At the top of the don’t list is a popular technique called the Triangle of Life. This is when a person cradles near an object such as a table instead of beneath it. According to this website, this only puts people in more danger.
They recommend the drop, cover and hold on approach. This means as soon as people feel the tremors of an earthquake, drop to the floor, crawl underneath a sturdy object such as a table and hold tight.
The website also suggests doing a visual sweep of your home and/or office to be aware of hazardous items that could fall.
Running outside or to another room and standing in doorways during earthquakes is frowned upon.
“The most common misconception about earthquakes (is) it won’t happen here,” Langston said.
According to him, earthquakes are rare and surprising, but they can occur in any place.
Langston did not specifically say Memphians should prepare for earthquakes but for disasters in general.
“There’s been a lot of bad weather in Memphis – Tornados, Thunderstorms, Ice Storms,” Langston said. “In preparing for those things, you are also preparing for an earthquake.”
