If you happen to visit the registrar, parks and recreation, circuit court clerk or any other county office in Isle of Wight at 10:20 a.m. Thursday, you might be asked to drop, take cover and hold on.
The state recommends that you do.
Isle of Wight is one of 46 local government agencies in Virginia participating in the Great SouthEast ShakeOut earthquake drill — an annual effort to raise awareness about quakes and how to prepare to survive and recover quickly.
“Obviously, we are concerned about the safety of our employees and the public that might be visiting us on any given day,” county spokesman Don Robertson explained Tuesday. “From a more personal standpoint in terms of our staff, it was just a few years ago that we actually did have some tremors in our area and some of our county buildings were impacted by that. So those of us who’ve been around for a few years know it’s not something we talk about hypothetically.”
On Aug. 23, 2011, a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region, centered in the town of Mineral in Louisa County. It was felt throughout most of Virginia, including Hampton Roads, and the East Coast. It was strong enough to crack the Washington Monument.
According to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, that quake and its aftershocks damaged more than 1,400 homes and businesses in the state.
The next year, Virginia began participating in the ShakeOut drills.
About 1.9 million participants from Maryland to Florida are registered in this year’s SouthEast ShakeOut, with 1.1 million Virginians making up the lion’s share — down slightly from 1.2 million last year.
Nearly 53 million participants have signed on globally.
Registrants include local, state and federal agencies, the military, individuals, hotels, senior care facilities, schools, businesses, neighborhood groups, nonprofit agencies, faith-based groups, museums and libraries.
Local registrants include public schools in Hampton, the city of Poquoson, Fort Eustis and Naval Station Norfolk.
VDEM’s slogan is “ShakeOut. Don’t FreakOut.” Emergency managers believe the “drop, cover and hold on” response is the best action to reduce injury and death in the event of an earthquake.
This means:
*Drop to your hands and knees when the ground starts to jerk back and forth, the better to avoid falling.
*Crawl under a sturdy desk or table, or hunker beside an interior wall away from windows and falling hazards. Stay on your hands and knees to protect your vital organs.
*Then, if under a shelter, hold onto it with one hand and be ready to move with it if it shifts. If not under a shelter, use your arms and hands to shield your head and neck. Stay there for 60 seconds.
Participation in the ShakeOut can range from actively going through the drop, cover and hold on process or, as Maria Nold, director of the Tidewater Regional Office of the state Department of Environmental Quality plans, send out an instructional email to staff on earthquake safety and response. Some groups conduct even more extensive training.
Tips and videos on how to plan and respond, and information on registering for the drill can be found at vaemergency.gov/event/shakeout-statewide-earthquake-drill/. It includes a new feature of safety tips for people with disabilities.
Dietrich can be reached by phone at 757-247-7892.
