Draper residents encouraged to register for ‘The Great Utah Shakeout’

“The Great Utah Shakeout” is organized and registration is now available to all Utah residents who want to attend a lifelike training exercise with a 7.0 earthquake scenario, April 17-19, at 10:15 a.m. each day.

Utah currently has more than 410,000 participants across the state signed up, according to the Great Utah Shakeout website. Draper residents are encouraged by the Draper emergency and preparedness committee to register as individuals and with their families.

“We would like to encourage everyone in Draper to participate so they can know what to do in any situation,” Emergency and Preparedness committee member Maridene Hancock said.

The Great Shakeout is a nationwide effort that was organized for the purpose of educating communities about earthquakes. The three-day event will cover when earthquakes may occur, how to best prepare for them, and what to do to be safe during and after the earthquake. Drop, cover, and hold on are some of the specific instructions given at the event.

“The idea is to encourage people to think ahead about things they might need in a time of crisis,” Hancock said. “For example, put a pair of running shoes in your car just in case you are stranded in your car or wherever you are and you find that you need to walk.”

The Utah Great Shakeout will create a life-like scenario of a 7.0 earthquake, a real possibility along the Wasatch fault line. Residents will explore different scenarios of where they might be when the earthquake strikes and what they can do to find safety. Schools, businesses, and families are all encouraged to prepare.

According to the Utah Great Shakeout predictions, the Wasatch fault has a major earthquake every 350-400 years and the last one was about 350 years ago. Eighty percent of the state’s 2.7 million people live and work in the Wasatch region.

“The reality is that this could happen any day and we need to start preparing now for the things we won’t be able to control then,” Hancock said. “Many of us think we will do something, but then we put it off until tomorrow. Tomorrow may be too late. The question is if the earthquake hit today, are you ready? Do you know how to contact your children? Do they know where to find you if there is no cell phone reception? Don’t put it off, do it today.”

To find out more about the Great Utah Shakeout and to register for the event go to http://www.shakeout.org/utah.