Virginia Water Radio: Episode 132 (10-15-12): Great Southeast Shakeout Earthquake Drill

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of October 15, 2012.

This week, we feature another mystery sound. Have a listen for about 10 seconds and see if you can guess what natural event could be causing this rumbling and rattling.

SOUND.

If you guessed an earthquake, you’re right! You’ve been listening to a Federal Emergency Management Agency public service video on earthquake preparedness. With still-fresh memories of the powerful and damaging August 23, 2011, earthquake centered in Mineral, Virginia, thousands of people in the Commonwealth, four other states, and the District of Columbia are participating in the Great Southeast Shakeout earthquake drill on October 18, 2012. Here’s a 30-second announcement on the drill from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

VOICE.

As noted in the announcement, emergency preparedness experts agree that the safest response to an earthquake in the United States—if you’re indoors—is to drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy table or other object, and hold onto the object until the shaking stops. If no sturdy furniture is available, crouch in an interior corner and cover your head and neck with your arms. Don’t try to run to another room or outdoors. But if you’re already outdoors, stay away from buildings, street lights, and utility poles and lines. The Great Shakeout on October 18 is your chance to practice these techniques and to learn more about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. In the next Virginia Water Radio, we’ll learn about researchers studying Virginia’s earthquake history through river rocks.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES

(Below) Map of intensity of August 23, 2011, earthquake centered at Mineral, Virginia. Source: U.S. Geological Survey, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/se/082311a/us/index.html, accessed 10/15/12.

Acknowledgments: The shaking/rumbling sounds were taken from a Ready.gov/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) public service announcement video online via You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwBZrejsSs, accessed 10/16/12. The Great Southeast Shakeout public service announcement was provided by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stay-informed/earthquake/great-southeast-shakeout, accessed 10/15/12.

Sources and more information: Information about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake was taken from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Web site at http://www.ready.gov/earthquakes; the Web site for the Great Southeast Shakeout, http://www.shakeout.org/southeast/; and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s (VDEM) Shakeout Web site, listed above. Registration for the October 18, 2012, drill is available at the Shakekout Web sites.

“One Year Anniversary: Magnitude 5.8 Virginia Earthquake”, a U.S. Geological Survey report on the August 23, 2011, earthquake centered in Mineral, Virginia, is available online at

http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/one-year-anniversary-magnitude-5-8-virginia-earthquake/.

Recent Virginia Water News

For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/. The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.