In 1983, the Earthquake Education Project (EEP) was established with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The CERI EEP was one of three pilot projects in regions of the United States having significant earthquake risk but a low level of public awareness (the two other EEPs were in Seattle, Washington and Charleston, South Carolina).
The EEP initiated a number of activities, greatly expanding CERI's public education role.
FEMA provided materials and information sources:
Complete set of three-dimensional models, (developed by the Environmental Volunteers of California, EV), for teaching earthquake causes and effects.
An EV-conducted training workshop, arranged by FEMA
One of the EV members provided us with the materials used by the Santa Clara County, California Girl Scout Council, which were adapted to become the National Hazards Preparedness Patch program of the Tennessee-Arkansas-Mississippi Girl Scout Council
Staffs of the Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project, the California Earthquake Education Project, and the Bay Area Earthquake Preparedness Project provided:
Earthquake preparedness materials
Reports on types of earthquake damage
Ideas and materials were freely shared between the staffs of the three EEPs.
The EEP grew as an important provider of earthquake awareness resources.
Our resource library grew to more than 500 titles, including:
Books and reports,
Films, slide shows, and videotapes,
three-dimensional models,
earthquake preparedness booklets, and
a selection of short papers and summaries of scientific research on the geology and seismicity of the region.
EEP prepared a Resource Library inventory that was made available to school libraries, regional state emergency management agencies, and anyone who requested a copy. Use of these materials by teachers and the public more than doubled over the course of the project.
Our advisor for the first year, taught a three-week seminar for earth science teachers. Using EEP-provided materials, these experienced teachers devised classroom activities and lesson plans specific to the New Madrid region's geology and seismicity.
Earthquake Safety Week was observed during the second and third years of the project.
The week began with a Proclamation by both the Shelby County and Memphis City Mayors, and activities included:
A day-long series of lectures, films, and demonstrations at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum.
Distribution of almost three million grocery bags printed with earthquake safety tips by many area grocery stores
EEP's first year saw a 300% increase in earthquake-awareness presentations, with an increase of 61% each succeding year of the project.
Our cumulative audience for the three-year program was more than 31,000 (not including the thousands who viewed exhibits or were reached by media coverage):
EEP conducted 16 training workshop for teachers, hospital staffs, and a variety of other groups.
Over 103,500 items providing information on earthquake phenomena and/or preparedness were distributed (not counting the earthquake-safety grocery bags).
By the end of the project, media coverage of earthquakes, wherever they occur, had increased dramatically. (For example, in the year following the end of the project, CERI staff responded to 81 media interview requests, compared to 43 in the final project year.)
Since its founding in 1977 as the Tennessee Earthquake Information Center, CERI has been mandated to provide information to the public on regional earthquakes past and present, as well as information on the methods, means and feasibility of reducing potential earthquake damage. The Earthquake Education Project was the vehicle that first activated this role.
