Consider participating in Oct. 23 earthquake drill
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All across the state at 10:23 a.m. Oct. 23, Montana individuals, schools and businesses will participate in The Great Rocky Mountain ShakeOut, an earthquake disaster preparedness drill.
Perhaps you’ve never been in an earthquake and don’t know what to expect. Or maybe you’ve grown up in an area where small earthquakes happened frequently, and you were never too concerned.
Very few people have ridden out a life-threatening earthquake that knocks over shelving, causes the ground to jerk so violently that you cannot stand up, or even topples buildings.
It could happen here.
Montana is one of the most seismically-active states in America, mostly in the mountainous western third of the state. Major earthquakes with magnitudes as large as 7.5 could occur, according to the USGS website.
The Hebgen Lake magnitude 7.3 earthquake, which occurred on August 18, 1959, was the largest historic earthquake in Montana and the 14th largest earthquake in the contiguous U.S. in historic times. The earthquake caused 28 deaths, mostly from a rockslide that hit people camping in the area.
In October 1935, Helena suffered through a series of several hundred earthquakes, including three damaging tremors with magnitudes 5.8, 6.3, and 6.0.
By participating in the ShakeOut drill, you will learn to avoid injury by planning ahead, to respond immediately and “Drop, Cover and Hold On.”
In many cases, advice given years ago has proved false, such as standing in a doorway or running outside. An early photo of a doorway still standing in a collapsed adobe building started the theory; in reality, emergency responders have repeatedly found desks and tables still upright after the building has collapsed.
And if you run outside, you are likely to get injured by broken glass, bricks, or other falling building parts.
Studies of injuries and deaths caused by earthquakes in the U.S. over the last several decades indicate that you are much more likely to be injured by falling or flying objects (TVs, lamps, glass, bookcases, etc.) than to die in a collapsed building.
The best way to prevent injury during an earthquake has come to this:
1. Drop to the ground before the earthquake drops you.
2. Take cover by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and
3. Hold on to it until the shaking stops.
After a disaster, the first reaction is to use your cell phone to call family or friends. However, cell phone calls gridlock the system and inhibit 911 calls.
Text messages get through when calls cannot. Instead of calling, the SafeAmerica organization recommends texting a short message: I’M OK/R U OK?
Research by the University of Missouri has shown that 800 short text messages consume the same mobile phone bandwidth as one one-minute phone call. Short text messages help ease demand and allow those in need of immediate help to get through to first responders.
Learn more in advance of an earthquake by visiting the Great Rocky Mountain ShakeOut website, and sign up to participate at http://shakeout.org/rockymountain/whyparticipate/
The website also recommends safety steps if you are not in a building, or if you or coworkers have a physical disability.
The drill itself takes less than a minute, but the injuries avoided and lives saved are well worth it.
