Drop, cover and hold on. Those are the steps people all over the Central United States are being encouraged to follow on Feb. 7 at 10:15 a.m. CST.

It’s all a part of the annual central U.S. ShakeOut, an earthquake drill organized and coordinated by the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and its Member and Associate States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Geological Survey and dozens of other partners.

You only have seconds to react to an earthquake, so it’s important to know what to do when the ground starts shaking. On Feb. 7 you can practice the following:

• DROP to the ground

 

• Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table

 

• HOLD ON to it until the shaking stops.

 

The ShakeOut is FREE and open to the general public. You can get more information or register to participate by visiting www.shakeout.org/centralus. For more information on earthquake preparedness tips, visit www.ready.gov.