Emergency officials will prepare for the “big one” this Friday.
Cliff Weaver of the Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency says an earthquake drill has been in the works for months.
He says Friday’s event will consist of three major components: a tabletop exercise at the EMA office, a mock building collapse on Harmony Way, and communication involving three states.
Weaver hopes we never face a major earthquake, but he reminds us that the Evansville area is close to the New Madrid fault zone, so it's possible.
In April 2008, a 5.4 magnitude quake shook the Tri-State. Officials say it was caused by a northern branch of the New Madrid fault line, the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone.
It was followed by numerous, smaller aftershocks. Nobody was injured and most damage was minor.