Five States Preparing For Summer Shake Up

(Graphic courtesy Arkansas Dept. of Emergency Management)

A magnitude 8.6 earthquake hit in the Reelfoot Rift in 1811. (Graphic courtesy Arkansas Dept. of Emergency Management)

(AP) UNION CITY, Tenn. - Emergency officials across West Tennessee are preparing for a multi-state emergency drill this summer.

The exercise - scheduled for June - will test their response in the event of a serious disaster like an earthquake along the New Madrid fault. The seismic area - also known as the Reelfoot Rift - is a series of faults that run along the Arkansas/Tennessee border.

A series of earthquakes measuring over 8.0 on the Richter Scale hit the area during the winter of 1811 and 1812. The quakes were the some of the largest in the contiguous United States.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and officials in 21 West Tennessee counties, as well as their counterparts in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois, will be involved.

Obion County emergency management director Mike George said communicating without the use of telephones and cell phones could be the biggest difficulty.

The county has purchased satellite phones and a new radio system to get ready for the drill and a real emergency.