The East Hartford Neighborhood Emergency Team (E.H. NET) hosted it's first annual earthquake drill at our monthly meeting on 4/27/11 to participate in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut preparedness that will occur on 4/28/11 at 10:15 a.m. Sixteen people were in attendance including the Mayor of East Hartford, Marcia Leclerc. Before starting the drill, a local newspaper article was read to the members regarding a recent earthquake that occurred at 8:42 p.m. on March 24, 2011 in Moodus, Connecticut. The magnitude of the earthquake measure 1.3 on the Richter Scale and although noticed by several residents of Moodus, no damage or injureis were reported from the minor tremor. However, according to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium (NESEC) website, the Northeast experiences an average of 40 - 50 earthquakes per year and due to the solid bedrock geology of the Northeast, a large earthquake will affect a much wider area than an earthquake of similar magnitude in California. In addition, the cities in the Northeast are among the most densely populated areas in the United States, which places more people at risk in the event of an earthquake. Furthermore, the Northeast is home to many older and historic structures that are not designed to withstand the impacts of an earthquake. Many older structures in the Northeast, such as schools, hospitals and fire stations, are built of un-reinforced masonry (i.e., "red brick") and are particularly vulnerable to damage or collapse in the event of an earthquake (NESEC, April 2011).
This is why it is so important that we have earthquake drills. We utilized the audio earthquake sounds that we downloaded for your website. In addition to using your earthquake drill manual that we also downloded from your website, we also handed out flyers to all members, "How to Protect Yourself During an Earthquake: Advice for People With Disabilities or Access and Functional Needs" which we downloaded form the California Emergency Management Agency. Members commented that the audio earthquake was impressive and it seemed that it was longer than the actual 60 seconds that was played. One member mentioned that he previously lived in California and experienced an earthquake which frightened him. He stated that when he felt the earthquake and all the shaking in the room he was in, he couldn't belive that it was acutally happening. He stressed how important it is to have these drills. All who were present was very impressed with the drill and would like to have it on a semi-annual basis. Your website is wonderful and we were pleased to be part of this amazing event that took two years of planning to put into place. We hope that this becomes an annual event nation wide.