FRAMINGHAM, MA – On Thursday October 15, 2015 at 10:15 a.m., millions of people across the world in schools, businesses, government offices, organizations, and households will participate in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. This drill will provide an opportunity to practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management agency (MEMA) is encouraging participation by all of its residents in the 2015 Great Northeast ShakeOut. “The main goal of the ShakeOut Drill is to prepare for a major earthquake, although your family, school or business can use this as an opportunity to think about planning for any type of natural or man-made disaster, as well,” stated MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz.
Earthquakes do happen in Massachusetts; in fact, the Seismic Hazard Maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), show The Commonwealth of Massachusetts as having a medium risk of earthquakes: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/products/conterminous/. Therefore it is important that residents know how to be safe when the earth shakes.
In 2014, nearly 500,000 people participated in The Great Northeast ShakeOut and nearly 26.5 million people worldwide. To date, over 350,000 in the Northeast have already registered to participate, with over 39.5 million worldwide.
Many businesses, schools, and organizations will also use the drill to practice and test other aspects of their emergency plans (notifications, communications, evacuation, etc.). Participation is entirely voluntary and organizations can choose their level of involvement. Please consider joining MEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USGS, the Weston Observatory and millions of people across the country in participating in this exercise.
More detailed information about The Great ShakeOut, as well as event registration, is available at: http://shakeout.org/northeast/.
MEMA is the state agency charged with ensuring the state is prepared to withstand, respond to, and recover from all types of emergencies and disasters, including natural hazards, accidents, deliberate attacks, and technological and infrastructure failures. MEMA is committed to an all hazards approach to emergency management. By building and sustaining effective partnerships with federal, state and local government agencies, and with the private sector – – individuals, families, non-profits, and businesses – – MEMA ensures the Commonwealth’s ability to rapidly recover from large and small disasters by assessing and mitigating threats and hazards, enhancing preparedness, coordinating response operations, and strengthening our capacity to rebuild and recover.
Media release furnished by Mass Emergency Management Agency
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