FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Memphis, TN — On Thursday at 10:17 a.m., more than 15 million people in 43 states and territories are expected to participate in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. During the drills, participants practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”, the recommended safety procedure during an earthquake. In this area, the ShakeOut is a part of a regional effort known as the Great Central U.S. Shakeout. There are more than 315,000 people in Tennessee who will take part in the drill.
For the ShakeOut, the University of Memphis and its Barbara K. Lipman School will host an open-to-the-media earthquake drill and demonstration. The event is co-sponsored by the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), FEMA, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). During the demonstration, disaster preparedness experts from CERI, CUSEC, FEMA, and TEMA, will be on hand to:
- Talk with students and teachers about the importance of earthquake and disaster safety
- Demonstrate proper earthquake safety techniques
- Provide information on potential earthquake threats in the Memphis area
Because damaging earthquakes may occur at any time in the central U.S., it is important that the public know how to protect themselves, which is what the Shakeout is designed to reinforce.
Media are invited to attend and take footage of the earthquake drill and hold side interviews, as well as participate in an earthquake focused public forum at the Michael D. Rose Theater on the University of Memphis main campus from 1:30-4:30PM.
WHEN: October 17, 2013 from 10:00 a.m.to 10:30 a.m. (media should be onsite by 10:00a.m.)
WHERE: Barbara K Lipman School and Research Institute
3771 Poplar Avenue – Memphis, TN 38111
WHO: Gary Patterson, University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information
Sandra Brown Turner, Barbara K. Lipman School and Research Institute
Cecil Whaley, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
Jim Wilkinson, Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium
Roy Wright, Federal Emergency Management Agency
RSVP: Interested media should contact Gary Patterson, Director of Education and Outreach at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, at (901) 678-5264.
The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut is coordinated by the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and its Member and Associate States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey and dozens of other partners. For more information visit www.shakeout.org/centralus.
###
