Great Shake Out Earthquake Drill Held at UTC

CHATTANOOGA,TN, (WDEF)-Under tables and covering their heads, UTC students took part in the Great Shake Out to raise awareness for earthquake safety Thursday.

Haley Wilson, Political Science student at UTC,"Thought it was strange that there could be an earthquake right now and we didn’t know what to do we all thought that you did this which is what we do to protect ourselves from our tornado, it was kind of shocking that we did not know what to do and we are in college"

More than half a million Tennesseans in day-cares, Schools, Charities and offices across followed the mantra of "Drop, Cover and Hold on"

UTC’s Safety and Risk Management team believe its vital that Tennessee colleges  create awareness about earthquake safety even if their campuses are not close to the Mississippi River.

Tim Pridemore, UTC Safety and Risk Management,"Having people practice prior to the time we have an emergency that’s what builds the muscle memory so when something does happen it builds the muscle memory automatically without having to think about it"

Pridemore added East Tennessee has received  more than half a dozen minor seismic tremors in recent months.

"Some people think they would be safer if they ran outside when the shaking of an earthquake starts but that is not true, things like bricks off the building, signs, awnings, glass of the second floor, all have a tendency to come raining down on top of you just as you come out the door"

9 other states participated in today’s Shake Out, including Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi.

Deputy Commissioner Purkey of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency also released a statement adding, "A major earthquake is now the number one catastrophic threat to our state,"