Earthquakes In Massachusetts? State To Partake In National Drill

WORCESTER, MA — Just before sunrise on Nov. 18, 1755, residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were awoken by sudden, violent shaking. An earthquake estimated to be as strong as a magnitude 6.3 had struck the region near Rockport. The shaking was so strong it could be felt as far away as South Carolina and upstate New York.

"The conditions were so extreme as to wreck the Houses in this Town to such a degree that the Tops of many Chimnies, and some of them quite down to the Roofs, were thrown down," a Boston newsletter from that time reported.

Seismologists don't know exactly what caused the 1755 Cape Ann quake, but they do know this: not only are earthquakes possible here, but the state is at moderate risk of having one — some parts of Massachusetts have the same level of risk as parts of Pacific Rim states like Oregon, Washington, and California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

To prepare for a possible Massachusetts earthquake, dozens of hospitals, governments, and community organizations on Thursday will partake in the 2019 Great ShakeOut drill. It's a worldwide event designed to demonstrate how to stay safe in an earthquake. The ShakeOut drill happens every year on the same day at 10:17 a.m. At that time, participants practice the drop-cover-hold maneuver.

In Massachusetts, falling debris (including items falling off interior walls) and damaged gas and electrical lines are the biggest threats in a quake, says Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Christopher Besse. Just like with hurricanes and blizzards, residents should keep emergency supplies on hand in case an earthquake hits.

"In general, you want to have an emergency preparedness plan and a communications plan for your family," he said.

(There is almost no threat of a tsunami happening off the Atlantic coast of the state, Besse added.)

There have been dozens of earthquakes in Massachusetts since the mid-1970s, according to Boston College's Weston Observatory. Some were even as strong as magnitude 3 or 4. There are also seismically active areas nearby. In 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia shook almost the entire East Coast.

Concord, N.H., meanwhile, is the "most seismically active locality in all of New England," according to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium. A magnitude 6.5 in 1638 felt by the Pilgrims was located near New Hampshire's capital. Two more quakes in December 1940 in New Hampshire had a magnitude of 5.6 each.

According to Weston Observatory scientist Alan L. Kafka, there's about a 2 percent chance of a quake hitting the state in any given 50-year period — but scientists can't predict if the next one will be tiny, or a repeat of the 1755 Cape Ann quake.

In other words, the Great ShakeOut is the perfect opportunity to practice your earthquake survival skills.

Here are some organizations in the Worcester and Framingham areas that will participate in the Great ShakeOut drill on Oct. 17:

• City of Framingham, Medical Reserve Corps
• City of Worcester, Worcester Division of Public Health
• City of Grafton Health Department
• Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Framingham
• NE Subsurface Survey, Worcester
• Jewish Healthcare Center, Worcester
• Milford Regional Medical Center, Milford
• Notre Dame Healthcare Inc, Hospice, Worcester
• Odd Fellows Home of Mass., Worcester
• VNACare, Southborough
• Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital, Westborough
• Medical Reserve Corps, Hopkinton
• South Bay Community Services, Worcester
• Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps