Earthquake Guide Now Available Statewide

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October 1, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 10:00 a.m.) – The South Carolina Earthquake Guide is available for the first time statewide via the Senior P.R.E.P. section at every Walgreens store in the state.  The S.C. Earthquake Guide is the first publication that details South Carolina-specific information on what citizens should do before, during and after a major earthquake. 

The S.C. Emergency Management Division is a partner with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging and Walgreens to sponsor the Senior P.R.E.P. (Planning Resources for Emergency Preparedness) program.  Senior P.R.E.P highlights a different type of South Carolina hazard each month to offer preparedness tips.  The month of October will feature earthquake information leading up to and during S.C. Earthquake Awareness Week and the Great Southeast ShakeOut! earthquake drill on October 16.  SCEMD encourages everyone in South Carolina to register for and take part in the Great Southeast ShakeOut. 

South Carolina has been recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey as one of the most seismically active states in the country.  Since February 2013, there have been 24 low-magnitude earthquakes recorded in the state, including the 4.1 earthquake in Edgefield on February 14 of this year.  The largest earthquake ever recorded on the East Coast had a 7.3 magnitude and its epicenter was in Summerville on August 31, 1886.

 

The Great Southeast ShakeOut

Similar to other emergency preparedness drills sponsored by SCEMD, the signal to begin the drill will be broadcast at 10:16 a.m. on October 16 via NOAA tone-alert weather radio and broadcast media. 

Registration on the Southeast ShakeOut site is an important part of this event.  The Great ShakeOut is open to everyone in South Carolina.  To register, go to www.shakeout.org/southeast.  Be sure to include the total number of people taking part in the drill with you.  More than 1.4 million participants total from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have registered so far.