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Danville Advocate, KY
Sept 20 2005
Shepperson carries disaster declarations with him
By LIZ MAPLES
Staff Writer
There is a 90 percent chance that Kentucky will experience a natural
disaster comparable to Hurricane Katrina by 2040.
An earthquake along the New Madrid fault line could be as disastrous,
or worse, than the devastation the Gulf Coast saw from the recent
hurricane, said Boyle County Emergency Management Director Lennie
Shepperson.
Shepperson carries a black, hardside briefcase wherever he goes.
Inside, there are four file folders, one each for Boyle County,
Danville, Junction City and Perryville, which hold disaster
declarations. Before private property could be used in an emergency,
a declaration has to be signed by the mayor or judge-executive.
In Kentucky, the ultimate responsibility in emergencies lies with the
mayor, for disasters within city limits, and the judge-executive, if
the disaster happens in the county.
The plan for disasters here is generic. Shepperson said it's designed
to mobilize local resources. If something were to happen, the mayor,
judge-executive and the city and county department heads are supposed
to meet at the 911 center in the central fire station.
Shepperson will call the Kentucky Emergency Operating Center. People
there will activate resources and equipment from neighboring counties
to our area.
One reason Katrina was so devastating, he said, is because the
disaster hit such a wide area that all of the neighboring places that
normally could assist were handling their own problems. The natural
disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi covers 90,000 square-miles, or
about twice the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
"A disaster that big is hard to fathom," Shepperson said.
Tornado is biggest natural threat here
In an earthquake along the New Madrid fault, Boyle County could see
some building damage, but most of the damage is predicted in western
Kentucky. Here, the biggest natural threat is a tornado, Shepperson
said. Unlike Katrina, people may have little or no warning of
impending danger.
During earthquakes and tornados, people have to shelter in place
because there isn't time to evacuate. Shepperson suggests
preparation.
"People are spoiled to everything going on. They pick up the phone
and the police, fire department, EMS will be there in just a few
minutes," Shepperson said.
He said in times of wide-spread emergency, it will not be so
convenient.
"This is why we should all be prepared to help ourselves."
Each household should know where they will go in case of a tornado or
an earthquake.
"When it's happening it's too late to decide," Shepperson said.
For tornados, the safest places are either in a basement, cellar or
the center of a house. For earthquakes the safest place is a doorway
or underneath a desk.
"It's better to err on the side of safety"
Shepperson suggests that everyone know basic first aid, and have
emergency supplies on hand, extra medication, food, water, cash and
important documents.
"It's better to err on the side of safety," he said.
The New Madrid fault creeps underground from northeast Arkansas,
through southeast Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky to
southern Illinois.
Scientists at the Arkansas Center for Earthquake Education and
Technology Transfer predict there is a 90 percent chance there will
be an earthquake, of 6.0 magnitude or greater on the Richter Scale,
by 2040.
Similar size earthquakes occurred in Armenia and San Francisco in the
1980s. There were 67 deaths and $7 billion in property losses in San
Francisco.
In Armenia, there were more than 25,000 deaths and $20 billion in
property losses.
A report by the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast Missouri
State University said the states along the New Madrid fault "are more
prepared than Armenia, but only a fraction as prepared as San
Francisco."
Sept 20 2005
Shepperson carries disaster declarations with him
By LIZ MAPLES
Staff Writer
There is a 90 percent chance that Kentucky will experience a natural
disaster comparable to Hurricane Katrina by 2040.
An earthquake along the New Madrid fault line could be as disastrous,
or worse, than the devastation the Gulf Coast saw from the recent
hurricane, said Boyle County Emergency Management Director Lennie
Shepperson.
Shepperson carries a black, hardside briefcase wherever he goes.
Inside, there are four file folders, one each for Boyle County,
Danville, Junction City and Perryville, which hold disaster
declarations. Before private property could be used in an emergency,
a declaration has to be signed by the mayor or judge-executive.
In Kentucky, the ultimate responsibility in emergencies lies with the
mayor, for disasters within city limits, and the judge-executive, if
the disaster happens in the county.
The plan for disasters here is generic. Shepperson said it's designed
to mobilize local resources. If something were to happen, the mayor,
judge-executive and the city and county department heads are supposed
to meet at the 911 center in the central fire station.
Shepperson will call the Kentucky Emergency Operating Center. People
there will activate resources and equipment from neighboring counties
to our area.
One reason Katrina was so devastating, he said, is because the
disaster hit such a wide area that all of the neighboring places that
normally could assist were handling their own problems. The natural
disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi covers 90,000 square-miles, or
about twice the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
"A disaster that big is hard to fathom," Shepperson said.
Tornado is biggest natural threat here
In an earthquake along the New Madrid fault, Boyle County could see
some building damage, but most of the damage is predicted in western
Kentucky. Here, the biggest natural threat is a tornado, Shepperson
said. Unlike Katrina, people may have little or no warning of
impending danger.
During earthquakes and tornados, people have to shelter in place
because there isn't time to evacuate. Shepperson suggests
preparation.
"People are spoiled to everything going on. They pick up the phone
and the police, fire department, EMS will be there in just a few
minutes," Shepperson said.
He said in times of wide-spread emergency, it will not be so
convenient.
"This is why we should all be prepared to help ourselves."
Each household should know where they will go in case of a tornado or
an earthquake.
"When it's happening it's too late to decide," Shepperson said.
For tornados, the safest places are either in a basement, cellar or
the center of a house. For earthquakes the safest place is a doorway
or underneath a desk.
"It's better to err on the side of safety"
Shepperson suggests that everyone know basic first aid, and have
emergency supplies on hand, extra medication, food, water, cash and
important documents.
"It's better to err on the side of safety," he said.
The New Madrid fault creeps underground from northeast Arkansas,
through southeast Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky to
southern Illinois.
Scientists at the Arkansas Center for Earthquake Education and
Technology Transfer predict there is a 90 percent chance there will
be an earthquake, of 6.0 magnitude or greater on the Richter Scale,
by 2040.
Similar size earthquakes occurred in Armenia and San Francisco in the
1980s. There were 67 deaths and $7 billion in property losses in San
Francisco.
In Armenia, there were more than 25,000 deaths and $20 billion in
property losses.
A report by the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast Missouri
State University said the states along the New Madrid fault "are more
prepared than Armenia, but only a fraction as prepared as San
Francisco."