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The Great Alaska ShakeOut Promotes Earthquake Safety

State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Last month South Central Alaska experienced an earthquake that measured 6.2 on the rector scale. Although there wasn’t any significant damage because of the quake, the state of Alaska is promoting a program that it says will keep residents safe during an earthquake.

On October 16th at 10:16AM, residents are encouraged to participate in the Great Alaska Shakeout.  The state is hoping individuals will take time all across the state to practice the “drop, cover and hold on” as a reaction drill.  In March, as part of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake, a ShakeOut was conducted with more than 100,000 Alaskan participants. 

This is public information officer with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Jeremy Zidek.

“What we saw during the recent 6.2 earthquake here in south central, folks that normally practice drop, cover and hold like schools and other large organizations, when that shaking began, and they knew exactly what to do. We heard a lot of reports that folks that don’t practice it on a regular basis that there is a bit of confusion about what they should actually do.”

The State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, US Geological Survey and FEMA are among those promoting Drop, Cover and Hold On.  Zidek says the concept is simple and could be lifesaving.

“Drop down to the ground before the shaking drops you, find some type of cover that can cover you up and then hold on to that until the shaking stops.”

Alaska is earthquake country.  According to the Alaska Earthquake information Center, the state has approximately 24,000 earthquakes each year, accounting for 11 percent of the world’s earthquakes.  However, Zidek says people are still uninformed of the dangers.  He says falling objects, everything from light fixtures to bookcases, are the biggest cause of death during an earthquake. 

“We see injuries from falling objects. Dropping to the ground is a good course of action because the shaking can sometimes throw people to the ground and if you try to exit a building, you’re walking down stairs, you’re thrown to the ground you can tumble down some stairs and there’s some injuries there. Also we don’t want a mad rush to the door when there is shaking, an unorganized evacuation can cause injuries as well.”

Zidek says residents can take some simple steps like hanging pictures with something more sustainable than just a nail and chord-- he says it may seem of little consequence, but if a picture frame drops and breaks, shattered glass poses a threat. 

The October ShakeOut already has 74,000 registered and Zidek’s hoping they can beat March’s record. For more information on the program and registration visit the website at www.shakeout.org/Alaska or follow the progress on Twitter by searching #AKShake.