Ice storm lessons guide earthquake preparedness

Damage from the ice storm of 2009 can still be found, if you look hard enough. This damaged utility pole stood along the railroad tracks at Castleberry Street in Piggott for many months, but was recently cut down for removal.
(Times photo/Tim Blair)

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"We sat down and did some brainstorming on the subject, but we're still working on a list of what went right and what did not," Clay County Office of Emergency Services coordinator Travis Boyd noted.

With the memory of the ice storm still in mind, officials now are comparing their response to the ice storm to what would be required should a large earthquake strike the region. The county OES also will be taking part in a statewide earthquake response drill in mid-November, as local authorities will be participating in the "Arkansas Shake, Rattle and Roll Earthquake Functionality Exercise."

"During the ice storm much of our energies were spent trying to get and maintain generators to provide our communities with water and to carry away sewage," Boyd noted. "In the event of a major earthquake we'd be facing many of the same problems, but we'd also be faced with ruptured water and sewer lines and ruptured natural gas lines. That's not to mention the damage to the infrastructure, such as highways, roads and bridges that would be closed."

Boyd also reported that Clay County officials will have a new base of operations for handling the next major emergency.

"We've gotten a new mobile command center from ADEM (Arkansas Department of Emergency Management) and we've already installed over $16,000 of equipment in the unit. I'm sure we'll be needing more. It's a 32-foot travel trailer with slide-outs, and we've converted one end into a command post."

He added the command center will be tested during the exercise Nov. 18.

"We'll be testing our radios and other response equipment," Boyd said. "It will give us a good chance to evaluate what we have and determine what else we need to get the job done."

The Arkansas exercise Nov. 18 also will serve to prepare the state for a nationwide effort that will take place in 2011.

"There will be a federal earthquake preparedness exercise in May of 2011, and we'll be working toward being prepared for that," Boyd said.

"I don't think people really expect a big earthquake, although many said the same thing about the ice storm."

The former county judge and state representative observed, "People don't really believe that it will happen, but I must say there is the potential."

The added emphasis on earthquake preparedness comes in the wake of the news that a new fault has been identified along Eastern Arkansas. The 30-mile long fault, which is referred to by scientists as the Meeman-Shelby fault, recently was discovered under the Mississippi River near the Memphis area. Researchers at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis note that if the fault becomes active it could trigger a quake of up to 7.0 magnitude, which would cause widespread destruction.

The researchers, along with the Army Corp of Engineers, currently are conducting a survey of a 200-mile area from the Bootheel of Missouri to the Memphis area in an effort to promote awareness of the threat.

Those who want more information on the Meeman-Shelby fault, or earthquakes in general, may visit the center on-line at http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/index.shtml.

The site also includes a map of all recent earthquakes in the central United States and is updated every five minutes.