SEMA News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2011
Video featuring Jefferson City school children now helping teach Midwest residents what to do during an earthquake
Fourth graders' demonstration of "Drop, Cover, Hold On" has just been adopted by organizers of 11-state earthquake drill on April 28
Fourth graders' demonstration of "Drop, Cover, Hold On" has just been adopted by organizers of 11-state earthquake drill on April 28
A new earthquake preparedness video featuring Mid-Missouri fourth graders is now being used by the Central United States Earthquake Consortium to teach Midwesterners what to do in the event of an earthquake. The four-minute video was released yesterday by CUSEC, the organizers of the first-ever Great Central U.S. ShakeOut earthquake drill, scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on April 28.
More than 172,000 Missourians and almost 1 million central U.S. residents are already registered to participate in the 11-state earthquake drill.
A video featuring teacher Rhonda Allen's fourth-grade class at Jefferson City's Thorpe Gordon Elementary School was photographed by the State Emergency Management Agency in December and posted to the SEMA Web site. The fourth graders do such a strong job demonstrating the Drop, Cover, Hold On method of self-protection that CUSEC commissioned SEMA to adapt the video for all 11 central U.S. states participating in the ShakeOut.
"The fourth graders at Thorpe Gordon really deserve this recognition," said State Emergency Management Agency Director Paul D. Parmenter. "The children were enthusiastic, attentive and provided a great example of what to do during an earthquake.”
CUSEC coordinates earthquake preparedness for Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina will also participate in the ShakeOut drill.
The new video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/CentralUSShakeOut.
More information on Missouri earthquake history, geology and preparedness is available at the State Emergency Management Agency's new earthquake Web site: http://sema.dps.mo.gov/earthquake_preparedness_2011/. The site includes SEMA's original video with the Thorpe Gordon students.
Anyone can participate in the ShakeOut by registering at http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/. More information on Missouri earthquake history, geology and preparedness is available at the State Emergency Management Agency's new earthquake Web site: http://sema.dps.mo.gov/earthquake_preparedness_2011/.
-END-
For more information, call 573-751-5432 or e-mail mike.oconnell@dps.mo.gov