Tennessee will be among 14 central and southern U.S. states on Thursday, Oct., 20, 2016, coordinating the sixth annual Great Central U.S. ShakeOut drill to raise awareness about the importance of catastrophic earthquake preparedness.
SEE A LIVE Earthquake Map of Tennessee HERE
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is working currently to register businesses, communities, individuals, organizations, and schools for the ShakeOut drill so they can learn how to prevent damage and injuries in the event of a catastrophic earthquake.
"A major earthquake is Tennessee's top catastrophic threat," TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said. "Earthquakes can occur at any time in our state, and Tennesseans everywhere should know the risks earthquakes pose and how to protect themselves before the ground starts to shake."
During the ShakeOut drill, participants will practice the Drop, Cover, and Hold On technique, which is the proper self-protection measure in an earthquake. The technique's actions are:
- DROP to the ground;
- Take COVER under a sturdy desk or table, or cover your head and neck with your arms; and,
- HOLD ON until the shaking stops.
TEMA will broadcast its ShakeOut event live beginning at 10:15, a.m., Central, on Thursday, Oct. 20, on the agency's TNDisasterInfo Facebook page, ww.facebook.com/TNDisasterInfo.
TEMA will begin its Facebook Live broadcast with a brief background presentation on Tennessee's earthquake threat, before demonstrating the Drop, Cover and Hold On technique at 10:20 a.m., Central.
To date, more than 245,000 Tennessee participants are registered for the ShakeOut.
The ShakeOut is free and open-to-the-public. To participate in the ShakeOut, individuals and organizations can register at www.shakeout.org/centralus. Once registered, participants receive regular information on how to plan their drill and become better prepared for earthquakes and other disasters.
TEMA is coordinating the ShakeOut in Tennessee with the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and its Member and Associate States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, and dozens of other partners.
Other states participating in the ShakeOut include Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
