LEPC talks over state plan for earthquake preparedness

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

The Vernon County Local Emergency Planning Committee usually starts planning their annual fall emergency drill in July or August, with the drill to be held in late September or early October. This year they are getting off to an earlier start.

During their monthly meeting Wednesday Gary Herstein, Nevada director of public safety; and James McKenzie, Vernon County Ambulance District director, volunteered to head the planning committee for the 2007 drill.

"We'll even get Peckman involved," Herstein said of the absent Vernon County sheriff.

"That's a good idea," Bonnie McCord, Vernon County presiding commissioner, said.

Vernon County Emergency Manager Dennis Kimrey told the committee that the county is in the process of getting his office and an emergency operations center set up.

This summer the state is planning to hold a statewide New Madrid earthquake drill, Kimrey told the committee. The New Madrid fault is in southeast Missouri along the Mississippi River, and the state is planning to include each county in the state that wants to participate. Those counties that would be directly impacted by a large earthquake, would be one group and the rest of the state would serve as support areas.

Kimrey said counties are not required to take part, but if a group says that they will participate, they will be expected to fulfill their assigned roles, which they will not learn until the three-day drill starts on June 19.

Although Vernon County is several hundred miles from the New Madrid fault, Kimrey said that an earthquake expert said at a workshop he recently attended, "If it's 7.5 we'll feel it here."

According to a compilation of newspaper accounts by Otto W. Nuttli of the earthquakes that occurred in 1811-'12, they were felt on the east coast of the United States. This document can be found on the Internet at: http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/SEISMICITY/Nuttli.1973/nuttli-73-app.ht....

Kimrey said that because of the uncertainty of what the requirements will be he has not decided yet to participate in the exercise this year.

Getting aid to persons needing medical attention quickly will be a little easier in the near future.

James McKenzie, Vernon County Ambulance District, told the LEPC Wednesday that seven new first responders would be out in the field next week completing their training. This will bring the total number available for calls to 15.

"Now all of the rural fire departments will have first responders," he said.

Because the first responders are located around the county they can frequently arrive on the scene before an ambulance can arrive.

"It takes almost an hour to make the drive to Schell City and we have been getting a lot of back-to-back runs there," Tina Werner, VCAD, told the committee.

"We're going to start staging an ambulance at Schell City during severe weather," McKenzie said.

He said that they might look at putting a unit there during the day.