[Publius]

A megaquake on the New Madrid could destroy all the locks on the Illinois Canal. That would permit the upper three Great Lakes to drain via Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, the Illinois Canal and the Illinois River into the Mississippi River. That would turn the Mississippi into something 20 miles wide from Grafton all the way to the Gulf. St. Louis would end up underwater.

[Cold Heart]

It would clear out the asian carp

[redshawk]

St. Louis would collapse long before the water arrived. Same with Cape. Just too many old unreinforced masonry buildings. Millions would die should that ever happen. Pray it doesn’t.

[Lurker]

We like Grafton. Nice little town.

L

[Paul R.]

Wait a minute. I’ve viewed the Chicago River and the Illinois Canal at several points along their course. They are puny, compared to the Mississippi River. Even if the locks completely disappeared, how does enough water flow down the Chicago River to “stress” the Mississippi, unless the Mississippi River is already severely flooding?