For the next couple of days Marion residents may see some unusual equipment and a great deal of activity.

Marion is the center for a statewide emergency drill that is predicated on a major earthquake in Southern Illinois.

The three-day I-Quake drill will allow agencies to test their abilities to handle communications, transportation safety and collapsed building rescue.

The exercise begins Tuesday morning with a simulated earthquake. The State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield will be activated and staffed with liaisons from more than a dozen agencies.

Field activities will take place here in Marion and other locations in Southern Illinois.
State agencies participating in field operations include IEMA, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Local participants include the Marion Fire Department, Williamson County Emergency Management Agency and Technical Rescue Teams from the southern divisions of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, the fire services mutual aid organization.

Illinois Taskforce 1, a statewide urban search and rescue unit, will participate in the earthquake exercise. Urban search and rescue involves the location, rescue and extrication and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces. The taskforce is staffed by rescuers, medical doctors, structural engineers and other professionals from throughout the state. The Chicago-based team responds to incidents anywhere in the state or the nation.

A major component to be tested is communication.

"A major earthquake in Southern Illinois likely will damage critical infrastructure, including equipment that supports emergency communications systems," IEMA Director Andrew Velasquez III said. "The ability for emergency responders to maintain communications with each other is vital, and during this exercise we will test our ability to quickly reestablish emergency communications through the STARCOM21 system."

IDOT will test its Earthquake Response Plan where inspectors are dispatched following earthquakes and major aftershocks to assess roads and bridges for possible earthquake-related damage.

The IDOT plan was implemented twice following the April earthquake and subsequent large aftershock. No damage was found at that time.