[PghBaldy]

Church bells rang in Boston and Miss. River flowed backwards, among other things... A sizeable quake like 1811-1812 would be felt and cause damage for many, many miles away.

[hanamizu]

Church bells rang in Boston and Miss. River flowed backwards, among other things... A sizeable quake like 1811-1812 would be felt and cause damage for many, many miles away.

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Yes, quakes are felt at much longer distances than in California. A big quake would be devastating here, if for no other reason the use of brick in older construction. All of the older buildings in St. Louis are brick, not just brick facade, but built of brick. Brick buildings do not fare well in earthquakes.

That said, the New Madrid earthquake area has been aware of this threat for some time. In the 80s a professor at Southeast Missouri State predicted a big one that never happened. But that got people and governments to start thinking in terms of at least working to mitigate the problems. Newer public buildings and works are being built to modern earthquake standards.

But a 1811-12 New Madrid earthquake would be a major disaster, no doubt.