Government warns of "catastrophic" U.S. quake (FEMA & the New Madrid Seismic Zone)

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 11/20/08 | Carey Gillam

[NormsRevenge]

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said if earthquakes strike in what geologists define as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, they would cause "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States."

FEMA predicted a large earthquake would cause "widespread and catastrophic physical damage" across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee -- home to some 44 million people.

Tennessee is likely to be hardest hit, according to the study that sought to gauge the impact of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in order to guide the government's response.

In Tennessee alone, it forecast hundreds of collapsed bridges, tens of thousands of severely damaged buildings and a half a million households without water.

Transportation systems and hospitals would be wrecked, and police and fire departments impaired, the study said.

The zone, named for the town of New Madrid in Missouri's southeast corner, is subject to frequent mild earthquakes.

[BGHater]

Speaking of Earthquakes, I would be more concerned with Charleston, SC.

The Forgotten Earthquake of 1886, Charleston SC.

1886 Charleston earthquake
THE 1886 CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA EARTHQUAKE

[NormsRevenge]

is there any more news about the rumor that retired military are being called up?

—

I hadn’t heard that one and I agree, it’s good to get folks to remember to stash some supplies and such aside for use just in case.

[GirlNextDoor]

Nope, not just you. Maybe it was just us though. :)

[nmh]

Well, with the messiah nearly on his throne, we know this can't happen to U.S.. Can it? Why I was told he was the “messiah”. Nah, he's the “one”. Even Farrakhan calls him the “messiah”.

[Wisconsinlady]

MARK 13:8: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

[CaribouCrossing]

“Nope, not just you. Maybe it was just us though. :)”

I’m not alone! Thank you! Hey, two is enough for a party. Wanna have a “Government warns of catastrophic U.S. quake” party? LOL! ;)

[concerned about politics]

BTW, is there any more news about the rumor that retired military are being called up?

Oh yeah. The bloggers said letters were to be mailed out the 19th. If this is true, it won't be long before they find them in the mail box.

[ladyjane]

Earlier this week FR was down so I was roaming around the net. I went to freerepublic2 on yahoo and from there went to altfreerepublic.freeforums.org and freedominion.com.

On one of those sites someone mentioned that there was going to be a big call-up of retired officers and NCOs. Upon questioning someone else posted a link - something like ‘top secret’ or something like that. I can go back in my history and try to find the link. Letters were supposed to be going out soon. Probably just a rumor. Hope so.

[GirlNextDoor]

Absolutely! I’ll bring the Friday night beer. :)

[CindyDawg]

People in the West have to by earthquake insurance. If a quake should occur in a low risk area, would regular insurance cover?

[JoJo Gunn]

Soon we’ll have to build everything to California standards.

[concerned about politics]

Web bots, btw, are saying meteors are going to hit the east coast. Two just above Florida, and one in the gulf. According to the bots, people will be notified if they are coming.

Do the web bots really have the ability to predict stuff? I have no idea. According to quantum physics, they would, because quantum is manipulated by conciseness..

[randomhero97]

Guess I need to hurry up on my SHTF purchases.

[yield 2 the right]

Fear not, Obama will “Change” this threat to a non-threat...

[concerned about politics]

I think it is wise for people in those areas to make sure they are taking into account the POSSIBILITY of a major quake

I saw a segment on FOX that showed teens training for a quake in California. I missed most of the story, though. I just caught the end of it.

[ladyjane]

You are so right. It is good to have supplies on hand. Bottled water is really important. Even if you have a well, you’ll need power or a manual way to get water.

There are a couple of threads here on FR that have good information about what to stock up on.

[Cicero]

I saw that same post on YahooFR2 and visited the linked website.

I don’t recall what the name of the website was, but to me, it looked like a fruitcake website. I wouldn’t put any stock in it unless we hear it from somewhere more authoritative.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“We’re dooooomed.”

When this happens, it will be probably the biggest disaster ever in the US.
The fault is real and the damage will be real.
But it may not be for 200 years, or it may be in the morning.

[dragonblustar]

[AU72]

Let me try an apocalyptic headline:

"Major loss of life if an asteroid hits Manhattan Island"

"Women and minorities most effected"