Arizona’s first responders joined a team of fire fighters, search and rescue members and National Guards in Southern California last week for a special training called Vigilant Guard.
It is the latest effort by federal, state and local agencies to prepare for earthquakes in the southwestern U.S.
More than 1200 National Guards from states including Arizona and Nevada spent the week in California responding to a mock earthquake.
The simulation created property damage that would occur during a 7.6 magnitude earthquake.
Dr. Michael Conway with the Arizona Geological Survey said there is a reason for that.
“We see about one hundred earthquakes a year in Arizona,” Conway said. “And two or three of those might be felt.”
Conway explained a lot of people have never felt an earthquake and probably wouldn’t recognize it initially.
He said one of the reasons for simulations is to understand the experience, how to prepare, and how to recover.
“Be prepared for aftershocks,” Conway said. “After a large earthquake and after that large first ground motion, there will be large aftershocks for the next several days and weeks and you need to be alert to that.”
The goal of simulations like these is to test how quickly and effectively agencies respond, so they can prepare for when a magnitude 6.7 or greater quake hits.
In 2015, Arizona completed its first-ever full-day state-run earthquake simulation in Prescott.
Dr. Conway said the magnitude 4.1 earthquake that hit Black Canyon City about a year ago was felt widely around the Phoenix metro area.
