Earthquakes in Mexico, Japan, Timely for St. Louis

This morning two large earthquakes were felt in the world.

First a 6.5 magnitude temblor was felt near Veracruz, Mexico.

Then a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rumbled off the coast of Honshu, Japan.

From AltonDailyNews.com --- this story ran this week:

The Japan earthquake is still fresh on the minds of many, and this is the bicentennial of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, which reached magnitudes of 7.7. The Metro East lies in an area that could sustain major damage in case of a large-scale quake within the New Madrid seismic zone. With that in mind, Lewis and Clark Community College is participating in what may be the Midwest's largest ever earthquake drill at the end of the month. It's called The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, and will take place at 10:15am on April 28. Although the New Madrid Fault is more recognized, the Wabash Valley Fault is also a factor, according to Mark Terry, with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

[Terry says the Wabash Valley fault has been the most recently active fault in the midwest region. In April 2008 there was a tremor felt in the metropolitan St. Louis area that originated on that fault and was barely over a 4 magnitude. Terry says the temblors in Japan are many thousands of times stronger than the one we felt three years ago.]

Lewis & Clark Community College plans to sound its outdoor warning siren with a voice message on its Godfrey campus to announce the earthquake drill on April 28. This event will be one of the largest earthquake preparedness drills in this region's history, according to shakeout.org, and a chance for communities in the Midwest to prepare together, before a disaster strikes.

For information on the upcoming earthquake drill, go to:


http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/illinois/