A 4.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Portland, Maine this Tuesday night, and was felt as far away as Connecticut. Fortunately, the mild quake caused no significant damage, nor injuries.
The New England earthquake this week serves as a reminder of the what most of the world has been acutely aware of in recent years: that there is always a possibility an earthquake will hit, and we do not know where, when or the magnitude of such a quake.
Because we do not know when earthquakes will hit, or how severe they will be, all we can do is prepare. On Oct. 18 Virginians can participate along with the thousands of others will prepare in The Great SouthEast ShakeOut! drills being held across the southeast and even worldwide.
At 10:18 am on Thursday, participants will relocate to a safe place in their home, school or business away from windows, possibly taking cover underneath a sturdy table or desk. Then they will, “drop, cover, and hold on," as though there was an earthquake.
Patriot High School in Nokesville, Va will be participating, as well as Lake Ridge Middle School in Woodbridge, Va.
Dr. Michael Bishop, Principal of Patriot High School, said that while all Prince William County Public Schools are required to hold an earthquake drill along with other comprehensive safety drills as a part of their crisis management plan, his administration wanted to take those drills one step further.
“We made the decision at Patriot to register with the ‘ShakeOut’ as a means of documenting our commitment to creating a safe, welcoming environment for our students,” Bishop said.
Here in Northern Virginia we might still remember where we were when the earthquake us hit on Aug. 23 of 2011. That earthquake, which was felt up and down the eastern coast from New York to North Carolina, caused few injuries and fortunately no deaths. It did leave the Washington Monument and National Cathedral in disrepair, and many commuters marooned on local highways as they tried to flee the district en masse, most likely avoiding the underground portions of the Metro.
However, in recent years the world has seen a number of earthquakes, each varying in levels of severity. That may be a sign that earthquakes are on the rise and everyone should take precautions.
When the earthquake hit off the central coast of Chile on Feb. 27 of 2010, my community of friends waited anxiously by the phone and on Facebook to hear if our friends, former Prince William teachers, who were living and working abroad had made it safely out of their apartment building in Santiago.
In Haiti, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Port au Prince it killed 220,000 people and left 3,500,000 people affected, most who had lost their homes and had to live in make-shift tent cities, exposed to the elements and onslaught of disease.
In Japan a 9.03 magnitude earthquake on Mar 3, 2011 was one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world causing 15,870 deaths and 6,114 reported injuries, as well as a level seven in three nuclear reactors.
According to the Great SouthEast ShakeOut media site, the organization believes this is their opportuntity “to prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes" by practicing what to do when an earthquake occurs. During the drill, participants practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” the recommended action to take during earthquake shaking.
The Great SouthEast ShakeOut is a cooperative effort by the states of Ga., N.C., S.C., Md., Va.and Washington, D.C. Sponsoring organizations of the ShakeOut include the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Maryland Emergency Management Agency, Virginia Dept. of Emergency Management and the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va.
Virginia residents are invited to take part by visiting the Great SouthEast ShakeOut website.
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