By Aaron McCullough
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake shook the ground near Garland, Utah Saturday Feb. 1.
BYU has extensive emergency plans in place to protect students and faculty in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.
'We have over 400 people trained in emergency response, and we train senior administrators how to respond to any type of a disaster,' said Kerry Baum, emergency preparedness coordinator for BYU''s Department of Risk Management and Safety.
An emergency operations center is in place on campus where BYU''s emergency plans can be performed, he said. 'It has everything we need to communicate with the city, the county, the hospitals as well as with church headquarters.'
'We''ve been told by the General Authorities not to encourage students to have food storage,' Baum said. However, students should have enough food on hand to get buy for a week, he explained. 'When you''re at the grocery store, buy for a week - don''t just buy tonight''s dinner.'
'We do encourage students to store water,' Baum continued. 'You should have three gallons per person, and you can keep in under your bed.'
BYU has 90,000 gallons of diesel fuel on hand to power emergency generators practically indefinitely, Baum said. 'Our emergency operations center could be self-sufficient for as long as we needed.'
BYU recently conducted full-scale disaster exercises on campus in order to prepare for almost any emergency, he said. 'The fire trucks came, the ambulances came - we had everybody from the FBI to the local hospitals involved.'
All of the construction on campus since the early 1970''s has included earthquake provisions, and the older buildings have been retrofitted, Baum explained. 'Structurally, we''re in good shape.'
BYU''s computer data center is automatically supported by backup generators to keep student records secure in case of extended power failure, he said.
The Earthquake Preparedness Information Center, a division of Utah Department of Public Safety, published a brochure with safety instructions to follow during and after an earthquake.
First, stay calm and stay put. 'If you are inside, stay inside. If you are outdoors, stay there,' EPICenter instructs.
Take cover. If indoors, EPICenter suggests using a desk, table or a supported doorway as protection, while staying clear of windows and avoiding upright furniture such as bookcases and china cabinets. 'Never use an elevator,' EPICenter warns.
There are also dangers to avoid outside. 'If outdoors, get away from buildings, trees, walls and power lines,' EPICenter counsels. 'Stay in the open until the shaking stops.'
Garland''s tremor was the third earthquake in Utah this year with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater, according to the United States Geological Survey Web site.
Walter Arabasz, director of the University of Utah seismograph stations, is not necessarily concerned about the recent earthquakes in Utah. 'An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 or greater occurs about every month in Utah,' Arabasz said.
However, Arabasz warned small earthquakes do not eliminate the danger of a large earthquake in the future, pointing out that a magnitude 4.0 earthquake is 30 times more powerful than an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0.
'There aren''t enough small earthquakes to release the amount of energy of a larger earthquake,' he said. 'The small earthquakes, simply put, are not a safety valve.'