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One of the strongest series of earthquakes ever to hit the United States happened not in Alaska or along California's San Andreas fault, but in southeast Missouri along the Mississippi River.
New Madrid has been talked about for some time, and eventually something will happen there. When the 7.0+ quakes hit in the 1800s, even church steeples in Atlanta were knocked over they say, hundreds of miles away. With shorter mountains and different topography than they have out West, earthquake damage travels further on the middle and Eastern sides of the U.S., so damage is more widespread when one does hit. Another example is the 7+ quake that hit the Charleston SC area in the 1800s as well - another one people have forgot about for the most part.
You can only be so prepared, though. They can reinforce structures and power grids all they want, but once you get into the 7.0 range, massive damage is going to occur no matter what you do. The best thing folks can do is to make sure you have at least a week (or more) worth of bottled water, food, and supplies stored away for emergencies - batteries, a radio, first aid kits, tarps/a tent even, etc. Folks just need to be prepared to be able to help themselves for a period of time with no outside help in the event of a huge disaster. And yep, I do believe that one day New Madrid will turn into one of those.
New Madrid has been talked about for some time, and eventually something will happen there. When the 7.0+ quakes hit in the 1800s, even church steeples in Atlanta were knocked over they say, hundreds of miles away. With shorter mountains and different topography than they have out West, earthquake damage travels further on the middle and Eastern sides of the U.S., so damage is more widespread when one does hit. Another example is the 7+ quake that hit the Charleston SC area in the 1800s as well - another one people have forgot about for the most part.
You can only be so prepared, though. They can reinforce structures and power grids all they want, but once you get into the 7.0 range, massive damage is going to occur no matter what you do. The best thing folks can do is to make sure you have at least a week (or more) worth of bottled water, food, and supplies stored away for emergencies - batteries, a radio, first aid kits, tarps/a tent even, etc. Folks just need to be prepared to be able to help themselves for a period of time with no outside help in the event of a huge disaster. And yep, I do believe that one day New Madrid will turn into one of those.
They say that quake cracked foundations in New Orleans and Detroit from the same New Madrid event. The area involved was staggering. The population density of all states west of the mountains was very low in 1811 when this happened, so the losses were minor. I cannot imagine how bad it would be if this happened today. I suppose if were that strong the next time, you would have damage through the whole center section of the nation, top to bottom. Cities closer to the epicenter like Memphis or st louis may be flattened.
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