EARTHQUAKE READINESS: DISASTER OFFICIALS PREPARE AT HOME

John Halter has turned his cluttered Chaffee home into a virtual fortress against disasters, stockpiling everything from two-way radios to generators.

Dave Hitt has stockpiled water, food, blankets, emergency lights and other supplies.

Halter, who coordinates Chaffee's earthquake preparedness, and Hitt, who directs Cape Girardeau County's emergency unit, figure they're prepared for a major earthquake.

Halter's position is volunteer, and his office operates on a budget of $500 a year.

Halter's home is full of emergency equipment, including a device that records static electricity found in the atmosphere in lightning storms.

In his kitchen, he has a number of two-way radios, a weather radio that automatically activates when there is bad weather reported and assorted batteries.

He also has his own weather monitoring station. With a press of a button, he can keep track of everything from the amount of rain to the wind speed and temperature.

The readings come from a rain gauge and other equipment mounted on his roof.

In case of a major disaster, Halter, not only has stored water, but has stockpiled emergency lights. He has several power generators, including a 10-kilowatt diesel generator.

"It is large enough to handle the normal house," said Halter.

Outside his back door sits a 20-kilowatt LP gas generator that draws fuel from a 500-gallon LP tank.

"It is safer than natural gas," he said.

Halter estimated he has spent $12,000 on the generator and related equipment.

He pulls a switch on his outside electric box and pushes a button on the massive generator to tap into his own power supply.

Halter has stockpiled canned goods, too, but the cabinet they are kept in isn't secured to the wall. In an earthquake, the cabinet could topple over.

He also has stockpiled water in gallon jugs.

"You can put a couple drops of Clorox in a gallon of water and it will stay pure for a long time," he said.

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake like the one that recently devastated Turkey would cause major damage in Southeast Missouri.

"Everything brick would be gone," he said, "including my home."

Just in case, Halter has a tent to sleep in and an air mattress and cot.

Halter, who was the civil defense director in Lewistown, Ill., for 25 years before moving to Chaffee in 1991, said, "I am ready for almost anything."

He said he moved into his brick house after scientist Iben Browning's forecast for a major earthquake in December 1990 along the New Madrid Fault didn't occur.

Like Halter, Hitt has his share of disaster supplies. He has water, food, blankets, a small shovel and light sticks.

A chemical is activated by breaking the sticks. "They will glow for eight to 10 hours," Hitt said.

In the basement of Hitt's Jackson home are two metal trash cans -- a sealed one with blankets and other supplies and another with military ready-to-eat meals. The sealed one is to keep out mice.

He keeps canned goods stockpiled in a cabinet. His water heater is strapped to a wall so it won't tip if a major earthquake shakes the region.

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He keeps wrenches near the gas meter so he can turn off the gas in a disaster.

He stores tap water in two-liter soda bottles.

"Tap water in a bottle will keep for about six months," said Hitt.

Unlike Halter, Hitt doesn't have his own generator.

"You can tie up a lot of money in a generator," he said. "If I'm not there, there is nobody at my house who will know how to use it."

Hitt recognizes he could do more; it is a matter of finding the time and the money.

"I try to do as much as I can," Hitt said.

EARTHQUAKE CHECKLIST

Items to have on hand and things to do to prepare your home for an earthquake:

*Flashlight