The State of Alaska has organized the Great Alaska Shakeout for October 16 at 10:16 am to practice actions to be taken during earthquakes.
The Office of Public Affairs said the recent 6.2 earthquake felt across the state caught many Alaskans off guard.
Alaska Earthquake Information Center Senior Seismologist Natasha Ruppert said this year has had more large earthquakes than normal.
Ruppert: “In July we had two magnitude 6 earthquakes in southeast Alaska, in June we had a magnitude 7.9 in Aleutian Islands so overall I would say that this year brought more events in 6-7 magnitude range but they are all in different parts of the state and there is no real direct connection between these different events.”
State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, FEMA, Alaska Seismic Hazards Safety Commission, and numerous other emergency response/preparedness organizations have said the practice of “drop, cover, and hold on” is the best way for people to protect themselves during an earthquake.
This March, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake, over 100,000 Alaskans participated in this exercise.
This ShakeOut is part of an larger international ShakeOut event with almost 25 million participants worldwide. To register go to www.shakeout.org/Alaska.
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