Great Shakeout Day in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- More than 570,000 Illinois residents have registered to participate in an international earthquake drill on what Gov. Pat Quinn has proclaimed Great Shakeout Day.

The Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill will take place around the world on Thursday morning.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency is asking residents in homes, schools and other places to take a minute to drop, cover and hold on. It is an action they are advised to take during an actual earthquake.

Illinois sits atop the New Madrid Seismic Zone and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. They are considered major fault zones. The largest earthquake ever to hit North America occurred in 1811 in New Madrid, Missouri. It was felt throughout what was then known as the Illinois territory.