Peabody To Distribute Earthquake Preparedness Pamphlets

PEABODY, MA — Peabody residents who have been wondering what to do if the rocking and rolling of recent months ever turns out to be a bigger earthquake will soon be able to turn to the new earthquake preparedness pamphlet from the city.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt said the Peabody Earthquake Pamphlet will soon be distributed to several neighborhoods, will be available online and at municipal buildings throughout the city.

The pamphlet was proposed during a public earthquake forum held at Peabody City Hall on Aug. 25 when Boston College Professor and earthquake expert Dr. John Ebel said the city was going through what he called an "earthquake swarm."

An earthquake swarm, he explained, is when a city or area with no known fault lines suddenly becomes the epicenter of dozens or hundreds of small earthquakes over a period of weeks or months. Most of the time, he said, the earthquakes can hardly be felt, and it is exceedingly rare for a major earthquake to occur during one of these swarms.

"What you are experiencing here in the town of Peabody is not an everyday occurrence," Ebel told the forum that drew dozens of residents and local officials to Wiggin Auditorium. "But it's not that unusual."

Still, Bettencourt said several residents did ask him that night if the city could prepare the pamphlet outlining steps to take to stay safe "in the unlikely event of a major earthquake."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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