More than 570,000 Illinois residents have registered to participate in an international earthquake drill on what Gov. Pat Quinn has proclaimed Great Shakeout Day.
The Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill will take place around the world on
Thursday morning.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is asking residents in homes, schools
and other places to take a minute to drop, cover and hold on. It is an action
they are advised to take during an actual earthquake.
Illinois sits atop the New Madrid Seismic Zone and the Wabash Valley Seismic
Zone. They are considered major fault zones. The largest earthquake ever to hit
North America occurred in 1811 in New Madrid, Missouri. It was felt throughout
what was then known as the Illinois territory.
