Get Ready, Kentucky & Indiana, For the World’s Largest Earthquake Drill

Several decades ago when I was but a youngster, I was playing with neighborhood friends in the front yard. Suddenly, the earth shook. It lasted a couple of seconds but it was enough to qualify as my first earthquake experience. (Also, having dug out dirt roads in the yard for my Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels, I was pretty jazzed that my play traffic got to experience it as well.)

Actually, it may have been my ONLY earthquake experience. Early in the 2010s--or maybe the late 2000s--there was another tremor that rang up something noticeable on the Richter scale. But it was in the pre-dawn hours, and I was sound asleep; I didn't feel it.

The fact that the tri-state is within spitting distance of what is considered a major faultline--the New Madrid fault--our "activity" has been on the light side. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared, though. Plans of action should always be in place in case of a disaster, even one as infrequent as a quake. With that in mind, who's ready for an earthquake drill? Memite and Axel certainly are.

At 10:17 AM (LOCAL TIME) on 10/17, workplaces, schools, and homes around the globe will participate in the world's largest earthquake drill. Shakeout.org invites everyone to participate but also invites you to schedule your drill any time of the year in case 10:17 on 10/17 doesn't work for you.

During the drill, you're simply encouraged to do exactly what you would do if an earthquake happened. Those guidelines can be found on the Shakeout website.

Happy Great Shakeout, tri-state, America, and the rest of the world.