State to hold earthquake awareness programs in Cape, New Madrid and St. Louis

The threat of a major earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone will be the focus of public events next month in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and New Madrid.

Organized by the State Emergency Management Agency, the activities will include seminars, field trips and classroom instruction for teachers and a town-hall meeting in New Madrid. The various programs will be held from Feb. 1 through 11.

SEMA director Ron Reynolds said an earthquake is a serious threat in Missouri. "A major earthquake would have a devastating impact on Missourians and Missouri businesses."

Between 200 and 250 minor earthquakes are detected annually along the New Madrid Fault.

Earthquake awareness events include a nonstructural hazard mitigation workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, and a town-hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at New Madrid County Central High School hosted state Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, a member of the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission.

The Cape Girardeau workshop is designed to help Missouri businesses avoid earthquake-related injuries, SEMA officials said. The workshop sessions will provide an overview on the earthquake hazard as well as steps to take to prevent damage from an earthquake. Steve Besemer, earthquake program manager for Missouri, will discuss the state's earthquake preparedness program.

Businesses or individuals can register online at training.dps.mo.gov/sematraining for the free workshop.

At the town hall meeting in New Madrid, a panel of earthquake experts will discuss emergency planning efforts, recent earthquakes and general earthquake preparedness. The 45-minute presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session, SEMA spokeswoman Susie Stonner said.

Panelists will include Sue Evers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Kansas City, Missouri Department of Natural Resources geologist Jim Palmer, Jamie Koehler of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the American Red Cross, Jim Wilkinson of the Central United States Earthquake Consortium, Buddy Mowery of the New Madrid Emergency Management Agency, and Besemer and Mayer.

The schedule of earthquake awareness events will start Feb. 1 with a meeting of the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission at St. Louis University. On Feb. 2, a free seminar and workshops on the theme, "Earthquakes Mean Business," will be held at the AT&T Data Center Auditorium in St. Louis.

On Feb. 3, the St. Louis Science Center will host hands-on exhibits, speakers, maps and displays for children and their parents from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also featured will be the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's collegiate engineering research contest winners.

The annual meeting of the St. Louis Mapping Project will be Feb. 5 in St. Louis. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are working to determine the areas in the St. Louis region that would be most vulnerable to a major earthquake, said SEMA's Stonner.

SEMA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will hold "Earthquake 101" classes for teachers on the weekend of Feb. 10 and 11. The training for teachers includes field trips in the New Madrid area. Advanced registration is required for the teacher training.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123