For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

West Tennessee Earthquake Awareness Week 2009 will be February 8-14.  As part of the week’s activities, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis conducted a poster contest in Shelby County for students in grades 4 through 6. Students designed posters related to earthquake preparedness and illustrated one of the following themes: how to be ready before an earthquake happens, how to stay safe during an earthquake, or how to stay safe after an earthquake.

Seventy-five posters were received from students in Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools.  The entries were judged Jan. 21.  Earthquake Awareness Week corporate partner, State Farm Insurance, sent representatives to judge, as did CERI’s partners in preparedness – the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Shelby  County Schools, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in each grade and to the teachers and schools of the first place winners. Prizes include hand-crank radios, hand-crank flashlights, and emergency preparedness kits from the American Red Cross.

Winners will be announced Thursday, Jan. 29, at the West Tennessee Earthquake Awareness Week kickoff. 

For more information about the kickoff, contact Gary Patterson, CERI information services director, by phone at 901-678-5264 or via email at glpttrsn@memphis.edu

More information about West Tennessee Earthquake Awareness Week 2009 events is available online at http://itmattersareyouprepared.org/2009earthquakeawareness.html