Drill set to be held next June

Associated Press

METROPOLIS - Doug Eames knows he has 10 months to prepare for a New Madrid fault earthquake that could cause massive damage in 18 states.

The quake, though, will be a drill, scheduled to start June 19, 2007, done as part of the Spills of National Significance 2007 and aimed at testing the response of cities, counties and states that choose to take part.

"A lot changed after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast last year," said Eames, national director of the exercise. "When numerous communities are affected, there's a question of where aid should go first, and how small communities can get help. Katrina took this exercise to the next level."

The project was formed after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. About 100 emergency response representatives from Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana met this week in this Southern Illinois community for a preparedness seminar.

The seminar focused on how to respond to a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault, something that hasn't happened since 1812.
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• Emergency responders planning for earthquake along New Madrid fault