CAPE COUNTY TO HOLD QUAKE DRILL

Dave Hitt knows the drill.

On Thursday, he will help coordinate an earthquake drill that will involve hundreds of people throughout Cape Girardeau County.

The drill will involve businesses, fire and police departments, local governments, emergency medical personnel and the two Cape Girardeau hospitals.

The cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and Cape Girardeau County will participate.

Hitt, county emergency management director, said the drill is designed to see how agencies and businesses react in a worst-case scenario.

"If there is a major earthquake, everybody is going to be in the same boat," said Hitt. "Everybody is going to be crying for help."

The exercise will begin at 9 a.m.

The drill will be the first attempt to simulate widespread damage, he said.

Some 40 area businesses, industries, schools, day-care centers, nursing homes and banks have expressed an interest in participating.

The exercise will involve mock casualties at the Procter and Gamble plant and the adjacent M & W packaging plant in Cape Girardeau County.

The two plants will have some 36 mock casualties, including some fatalities, Hitt said.

The county's emergency operations center at Jackson will be activated to handle the "disaster."

"We will set up tables in the EOC. Each of the county officeholders or department heads who have certain areas of responsibility will be at the table," he said.

The goal, said Hitt, is to see if emergency preparedness plans for businesses, schools and other agencies work or need improvements.

"Hopefully, we will overload the support units," he said. "Then we will see how people would adjust to taking care of themselves on their own."

The ultimate goal, he said, is to save lives in the event of a natural disaster.