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Utah Residents Encouraged To Participate Remotely In The Great Utah Shakeout

Ben Chun

 

The Great Utah Shakeout is an annual earthquake drill for residents of Utah. This year, Utahns are encouraged to participate remotely.

“What we invite people to do on shakeout day is to practice all the things that they should do to simulate an earthquake," Joe Dougherty said.

 

Dougherty is the spokesperson for the Utah Division of Emergency Management. Utah’s annual earthquake drill is typically held on the third Thursday in April and schools around the state participate.

According to Dougherty, this year teachers are encouraged to hold drills with their classes over zoom because of the global pandemic. 

“Remind those students of what they need to do to prepare for earthquakes and how to keep themselves the safest possible," he said.

Following an earthquake in Magna last month, Utah is still experiencing aftershocks. A 4.2 magnitude aftershock was felt along the Wasatch front on Thursday morning, the same day the shakeout is typically held. 

Dougherty said this teaches the relevance of earthquake preparedness in the state. 

“Utahns are learning what an earthquake means and how these aftershocks can continue for quite a long time after an earthquake," he said.

He said it is also important to participate as a household in earthquake drills. He also said it is safe to be in a bed during an earthquake, but it is important to make sure there are no heavy picture frames or other objects surrounding the area. 

Dougherty said more earthquake tips are being posted on social media for Utah residents and can be found by searching ‘utah emergency’ on Twitter and Facebook.