Lt. Gov. Kehoe opens nation's largest earthquake summit

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe speaks Thursday morning at the beginning of the 2023 Earthquake Summit in Portageville.

DAR/Donna Farley

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe stressed the importance of the plans and relationships formed Thursday at the annual Earthquake Summit in Portageville, as the massive event kicked off its fifth year.

The conference is the largest event of its kind, according to state earthquake program manager Jeff Briggs, and it brings together hundreds of first responders, emergency management professionals and partners from the local to federal levels. All of them gather to discuss preparations for a major earthquake event in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

“Being prepared is something that’s incredibly hard to describe,” Kehoe said. “There are so many scenarios that can happen that nobody can predict, so this is time well spent.”

Those gathered at the 2023 Earthquake Summit in Portageville include Sen. Jason Bean, as well as city and county officials from across Southeast Missouri.

DAR/Donna Farley

Five states and four Federal Emergency Management Agency zones came together with local agencies to put the event together, officials said. Having everyone present at the event makes a big difference, Kehoe explained, and he thanked Sen. Jason Bean and Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Robbie Myers for their work in helping organize Kehoe’s time at the summit.

Kehoe spoke on his involvement and the response to a flash flood event last summer in the St. Charles and St. Louis areas. Everyone involved was prepared to respond to the disaster, he said, but what he hadn’t expected were the requests from elected officials with limited knowledge of how the response would unfold.

Thus, he encouraged everyone attending to share the knowledge they gained and the plans they established with all of their elected officials, from city council members to county commissioners and state representatives.

Butler County EMA Director Robbie Myers and Sen. Jason Bean listen as Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe speaks Thursday at the 2023 Earthquake Summit in Portageville.

DAR/Donna Farley

“I hope you can figure out a way to try to include them in the communication line,” Kehoe said, adding, “There’s a lot of opinions on what government should and shouldn’t do in someone’s life.

“You can debate that all day long. The one constant you never hear anyone complain about, is when there’s a major problem ... when the agencies in this room come to their aid.”

He encouraged all partners to continue to work together, to help those in proximity to the New Madrid Seismic Zone to be as prepared as possible.

Scott M. Ausbrooks, director and state geologist for the Department of Energy and Environment, Arkansas Geological Survey, speaks Thursday on the science and history of the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

DAR/Donna Farley