Preparedness

Neil Johnson njohnsn at IowaTelecom.net
Fri Sep 21 18:52:03 PDT 2001


Tim May wrote:

> "unrecoverable from." (Meaning, the best that could happen to survivors
> would be their evacuation out of the area to a fresh start in Missouri
> or Iowa or wherever

Unfortunately, Iowa and Missouri lie near the New Madrid Fault.

From: http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/public/facts_long.shtml :

"The greatest earthquake risk east of the Rocky Mountains is along the New
Madrid fault system. Damaging earthquakes are much less frequent than in
California, but when they do occur, the damage can be far greater, due to
the underlying geology.

The New Madrid fault system, or the New Madrid seismic zone, is a series of
faults beneath the continental crust in a weak spot known as the Reelfoot
Rift. It cannot be seen on the surface. The fault system extends 150 miles
southward from Cairo, Illinois through New Madrid and Caruthersville,
Missouri, down through Blytheville, Arkansas to Marked Tree, Arkansas. It
dips into Kentucky near Fulton and into Tennessee near Reelfoot Lake, and
extends southeast to Dyersburg, Tennessee. It crosses five state lines, and
crosses the Mississippi River in at least three places.

The great New Madrid earthquake of 1811-12 was a series of quakes that
happened over a three-month period. The main shocks, the three largest
earthquakes, were estimated to be greater than magnitude 8.0 Aftershocks
included two events around magnitude 8.0, five magnitude 7.7, ten magnitude
5.3, and eighty-nine estimated at magnitude 4.3. The entire fault system is
believed to have ruptured in this series of earthquakes. Aftershocks were
felt in the region for more than a year. This was the largest release of
seismic energy in the continental United States. The only other larger event
was the Great Alaska Earthquake, in 1964."

Probably not going to be on anybodies' "top ten places to live" after  being
through a major quake in CA.

-Neil Johnson





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