[jim_trent]

The buildings in the mid-west are not built to any earthquake standards. From memory, there are 4 earthquake zones for design. Almost all of the mid-west is in the lowest earthquake zone -- ie. no additional design required. There is a small zone of elevated earthquake danger around New Madrid, but it does not extend to any really large City's.

From a book I read about it once, there have been many earthquakes in the area at about 100 year intervals. The longer between earthquakes, the larger it is. We are overdue.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks Jim. That's my take too. I sound the alarm about this topic, because I believe the area is overdue, and I think folks should be aware and as prepared as they can be. There are steps homeowners can implement to protect their homes. Making sure they are bolted to the foundation helps. Spires going criss cross between beams helps too. Then there's the emergency items that would help in any disaster, water, first aid kit, gas turn off valves close-by the meter etc.