By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri emergency management officials say they're better prepared for a major earthquake, thanks in part to last month's 5.2 quake in southern Illinois.
The state response to the April 18th temblor turned into a training exercise of sorts for the next major earthquake that happens in Missouri, says Susie Stonner of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
She cites as an example MoDOT's automatic inspection of all roads and bridges in Missouri's most earthquake-prone counties.
"I think they started early morning, and they were finished by 5:00PM, so they inspected (them), their plan worked," Stonner said.
Other state agencies in Missouri reviewed their earthquake plans after the Illinois event, but made no major changes.
"It caused our different agencies to get their plans out, look at them, contact their counterparts, and make sure their plans meshed up, so it was a really good exercise," Stonner said.
A workshop was also held in Jefferson City last week to make sure that federal, state and local earthquake plans compliment each other.
There are 47 counties in Missouri that are most prone to earthquakes.
They stretch along or are adjacent to the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.