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Scientists predict a Haiti-magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid fault during the next 50 years. The fault runs under the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest parts of the US.

downloadable .pdf file of possible results if New Madrid fault lets go.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Sept. 25, 2009) — More than 200 National Guard officials and representatives of civilian agencies from eight states attended the New Madrid Seismic Zone Workshop sponsored by the Missouri National Guard. The event’s purpose was to coordinate the National Guard response to a catastrophic earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Missouri adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Steven L. Danner, said the reason for the workshop — which drew participants from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, and Arkansas — was preparedness. “We want the citizens to have the knowledge that the National Guards of each of...

The New Madrid fault system does not behave as earthquake hazard models assume and may be in the process of shutting down, a new study shows. A team from Purdue and Northwestern universities analyzed the fault motion for eight years using global positioning system measurements and found that it is much less than expected given the 500- to 1,000-year repeat cycle for major earthquakes on that fault. The last large earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone were magnitude 7-7.5 events in 1811 and 1812. Estimating an accurate earthquake threat for the area, which includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee,...

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...

Magnitude 4.5 Date-Time * Monday, April 21, 2008 at 05:38:30 UTC * Monday, April 21, 2008 at 12:38:30 AM at epicenter Location 38.473°N, 87.823°W Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program Region ILLINOIS Distances * 8 km (5 miles) NW (323°) from Mount Carmel, IL * 12 km (7 miles) WSW (238°) from Allendale, IL * 12 km (8 miles) NE (37°) from Bellmont, IL * 35 km (22 miles) SW (230°) from Vincennes, IN * 60 km (37 miles) NNW (337°) from Evansville, IN * 211 km (131 miles) E (94°) from St. Louis, MO Location Uncertainty...

Source: University of Kentucky Date: December 14, 2006 Researchers Complete Seismic Borehole In Kentucky Drilling has been completed on the deepest borehole for seismic instruments in the eastern U.S. The four-inch diameter hole for the Central U.S. Seismic Observatory (CUSSO), located at Sassafras Ridge in Fulton County, Kentucky, reached a depth of 1,948 feet, where bedrock was encountered. The location is near the most active part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the source of at least three major earthquakes in the winter of 1811-12, before the region was heavily populated and developed. This location will allow instruments in the...

ST. LOUIS - Preparing for a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault is a priority, a FEMA official said Friday before a congressional field hearing on government readiness to handle natural disasters. "New Madrid is at the top of the list," Michel Pawlowski, section chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said. "It's our primary objective." Pawlowski told a congressional committee that FEMA has "significant concerns" for the potential of a catastrophic earthquake equal in magnitude to those that struck parts of the Mississippi River Valley in 1811-1812, and again in 1895. The estimated magnitude of those earthquakes is...

PIGGOT, ARK. Gary Howell peered around his quaint town and nonchalantly described how it would be decimated when a major earthquake erupted from the nearby New Madrid Fault. Most of the century-old brick buildings would topple. So would the police station. The emergency operations center for Clay County - housed in the courthouse - would be crushed from chunks of the concrete ceiling. And this is a place touted as a model for earthquake preparedness. "We're not ready," said Howell, the county's longtime chief executive officer. More than two decades after federal and state officials called for massive preparations for...

Government officials are evaluating and revising disaster plans around the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, just as they did after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While war and automobiles kill more people than nature, find out what natural disasters top scientists’ worry lists. #10 Pacific Northwest Megathrust Earthquake Geologists know it’s just a matter of time before another 9.0 or larger earthquake strikes somewhere between Northern California and Canada. The shaking would be locally catastrophic, but the biggest threat is the tsunami that would ensue from a fault line that’s seismically identical to the one that...

A colossal earthquake that caused damage from South Carolina to Washington D.C. and temporarily reversed the course of the Mississippi River nearly two centuries ago could be repeated within the next 50 years, scientists said today. Strain is building on a fault near Memphis, Tennessee that was the site of a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in 1812, according to new observations that settle a debate on the risk of another huge quake. The odds of another 8.0 event within 50 years are between 7 and 10 percent, geologists said today. The assessment, based on new data from a recently installed array...

Recent Earthquake Activity in the USA Magnitude 3.6 - WESTERN KENTUCKY 2005 June 20 12:21:42 UTC Preliminary Earthquake Report Cooperative New Madrid Seismic Network A minor earthquake occurred at 12:21:42 (UTC) on Monday, June 20, 2005. The magnitude 3.6 event has been located in WESTERN KENTUCKY. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 21 km (13 miles). (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.) Magnitude 3.6 Date-Time Monday, June 20, 2005 at 12:21:42 (UTC) = Coordinated Universal Time Monday, June 20, 2005 at 7:21:42 AM = local time at epicenter Location 36.920°N, 89.000°W Depth 21.1 km (13.1 miles) Region...

<p>MANILA, ARKANSAS -- A mild earthquake centered in northeastern Arkansas was felt across a wide area of the Mississippi Valley on Sunday, but no major damage was reported.</p> <p>The quake was measured at magnitude 4.1, the U.S. Geological Survey said.</p>

Reports of houses shaking in several counties...also a loud explosion being heard. Anyone on here in that area. Anyway have any further information. Checking the earthquake sites but nothing yet. This happened about 20 minutes ago. Further info appreciated...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis have updated their expectations for earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The new forecasts estimate a 7 to 10 percent chance, in the next 50 years, of a repeat of a major earthquake like those that occurred in 1811-1812, which likely had magnitudes of between 7.5 and 8.0. There is a 25 to 40 percent chance, in a 50-year time span, of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake. The earthquake probabilities in this region have changed considerably since the...