Today’s
blog comes from Dr. Mike Conway, Chief of the Geologic Extension Service of the
Arizona Geological Survey. Dr. Conway is a volcanologist with an expertise in
small-volume basaltic systems, such as the San Francisco volcanic field near
Flagstaff, Ariz. Mike has worked at the Arizona Geological Survey since
2007. Prior to that, he was a Professor of Earth Sciences at Arizona
Western College for nearly a decade. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan
Technological University in Houghton, Mich.
Twenty million two hundred
thousand and counting! That’s the number of people enrolled, so far, in the
Great ShakeOut, ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On’, earthquake preparedness exercise scheduled
for Oct. 15, 2015.
People from 40 U.S. States,
U.S. territories, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia and Italy, among others,
are taking part in ShakeOut 2015. California leads all participating states with
over 10,000,000 people registered. More
than 73,000 people are registered, including more than 40,000 school-age
children, and 20,000 university students and faculty, to participate in the
Great Arizona ShakeOut.
So why ShakeOut in Arizona? Because
large and small magnitude earthquakes are a common occurrence in the western
U.S. A small magnitude earthquake feels like a sudden jolt and the ground
shaking lasts for a mere second or two. But the ground shaking that accompanies
a larger magnitude earthquake – say a magnitude 7 - can last for more than a
minute and collapse bridges, damage buildings, destroy roads, and injure or
kill people.
In Arizona, large magnitude
earthquakes are rare. But they can occur, and just as importantly they happen
with greater frequency in surrounding states – California, Utah and Nevada –
and Mexico. Yuma, has a population of 100,000 and is located just 60 miles east
of the San Andreas Fault system--one of North America’s most active and
dangerous faults. “Drop, Cover, and Hold on” is
a strategy employed by Yumans to minimize injuries and stay safe.
We cannot predict when or
where the next major earthquake will happen. The science is simply not there, and
it’s not even close. But we know where major fault systems lie, and we know
what areas are more likely to be impacted by severe ground shaking. Our first,
best strategy is to prepare our families, homes and business for the impact of
a large earthquake through drills and exercises like the Great Arizona ShakeOut.
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| Kids ShakeOut 2012 |
Please join the Arizona
Geological Survey and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs,
and 73,000 of your neighbors in participating in the Great Arizona ShakeOut at
10:15 a.m. on Oct. 15.
Some online resources:
·
The AZGS YouTube channel has earthquake and
fault videos, including a 90-second, time-lapse video and a webisode titled “Earthquakes
in Arizona 1852-2011.”
·
“Arizona is Earthquake Country” is a 44-page earthquake
primer with maps, pictures and illustrations (8.5 Mb)
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