A 7.0 earthquake in the Midwest? Planning for the "maximum-of-maximums"

FEMA ^ | 12/16/2010 | Tim Manning

[FromLori]

It’s the stuff legends are made of. On this day 199 years ago, the first in a series of catastrophic earthquakes rocked the Midwest along the New Madrid seismic zone. Although the epicenter of the December 16th quake was in northeast Arkansas, the magnitude of the quake reportedly caused church bells to ring along the East coast.

As the graphic above shows, an major earthquake in the New Madrid zone (of magnitude 6.0 or more) would severely affect Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Several other states would be affected, ranging from Minnesota to Florida.

It’s hard to imagine a natural disaster on that scale today. For this reason, FEMA is leading a national-level exercise in May of 2011 (NLE 2011) simulating a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault. We’re bringing all the relevant team members to the table to make the exercise as realistic as possible – federal/state/local governments, the private sector, non-profit and faith-based groups, the public, and even the international community. FEMA leaders will provide more details on NLE 2011 as it approaches, so watch the blog for more details.

(For the emergency management types, check out an overview of Illinois’s planning for NLE 2011.)

If the 199th anniversary of New Madrid serves a purpose today, it’s that individuals and communities need to plan for what we call a “maximum of maximums” event -- a large-scale, catastrophic event. It may be gloomy to think about, but it’s necessary to plan for the unexpected, so whether you live along the New Madrid fault line or in the Pacific Northwest, take a few minutes today to be informed about the possible disasters in your community.

We sincerely hope America never has to respond to a major earthquake in the New Madrid zone, but we need to be prepared. Visit Ready.gov for earthquake preparedness tips and other ways you can get prepared.

We want to use this blog to share ideas and continue the conversation, so leave a comment about how your family / organization / company is preparing for a “maximum of maximums” event.

[Lurker]

Freeper Travis McGee writes about a major New Madrid quake in his book. It ain’t pretty.

[mewzilla]

From the USGS....

FAQs - Earthquake Preparedness

[DManA]

FEMA Post Disaster Play Book.

Step 1: Confiscate all the guns.
Step 2: Round up all the Freepers.

[FromLori]

Is his book online?

I think people should try to be prepared for an emergency anyway you never know when one could strike in any area.

[OB1kNOb]

Arkansas averages somewhere around 30-50 small tremors a year. This year, we’ve had somewhere around 450+, most centered around the small community of Guy, and a number of them in the 3.0 to 3.5 range. Something is sure going on around here, and it makes me nervous as to what may come.

[4yearlurker]

Just like Hurricane Katrina in NO. The gangs went wild,the cops went out for some free shopping,and a fat dough nut eating cop tackled an old lady in her kitchen and confiscated her rusty 22 pistol.

(Oh,and Shep Smith's mascara was running.)

[Elle Bee]

On December 16, 1811, the 400 residents of New Madrid, Missouri, were shaken out of their beds at two in the morning by a violent earthquake. Huge cracks split the ground. The waters of the Mississippi rose and fell like a great tide. Giant waves rose up and swept north, giving the impression that the river was actually flowing backwards. Boats along the river were engulfed, capsized, and theeair crews drowned.

It's one year after two New Madrid earthquakes have devastated the Mississippi Valley.
Battalions of foreign peackeepers are occupying Tennessee, at the invitation of the President.

Phil Carson, (from "Enemies Foreign And Domestic"), and three strangers are hiding in a well-stocked cave, which is a guerrilla fighter's lair. Across the region Kazakh "contract peacekeepers" are wiping out the last remaining American holdouts, who have rejected the federal government's order to abandon their homes and move to "relocation centers."

This scene is in the middle of the novel.

CLICK on COVER to read excerpt from FReeper Travis McGee

.

[cripplecreek]

One nice thing about Michigan. We have a pretty solid basement. We would definitely feel a quake like that but its unlikely to do major damage.

The most I’ve ever felt is a mild tremor from one of those northeastern Ohio quakes back in the 80s. I didn’t feel the one a few months back.

[FromLori]

I can understand that feeling of unease but the best thing to do is prepare as well as you can in case help was not immediately available and then trust the Lord to take care of the rest.

[FromLori]

Thank you Elle Bee

[pepperdog]

Same thing here in Oklahoma, not quite as strong but seems like many more than we’ve experienced in the past. And tremors are happening in areas where they’ve not been experienced before...makes one wonder.

[OB1kNOb]

Earthquake 'swarm' rattles Arkansas town and its residents

[anniegetyourgun]

Allow me to insert the typical response of most people on such matters: “Oh, that would never happen. You’re just being a fearmonger.”

[OB1kNOb]

We are prepared and we are His, so no problem there, I just get a queezy feeling about the shaking going on and being 20-30 floors up at work. Heights would not my favorite way to go. ;-)

[OB1kNOb]

Didn’t y’all have a pretty good one (around 4) close to Tulsa a short while back? I thought that was pretty unusual when I heard about it.

[Disambiguator]

Buy the whole set, and get them autographed, too! That’s what I did.

[txhurl]

We had a thread on this back in ‘03 or 4 where the USGS exploded hundreds of charges along the fault to see what the seismic readings would be.

Some of the really old threads are hard to find - we’ve had so many server wipes over the years I think a big chunk are lost.

[buckalfa]

Heck, FEMA needs to use all of those old Rex 84 camps before they forget where they are!

[Mr. K]

Sounds like a good diversion excuse for a massive mobilization of troops before inplementing Martial Law.

People would notice, but if you got a good cover story...