The US government has started a program on earthquake preparedness aimed at people living in the midwest of the United States, specifically those states on the New Madrid fault line.

Most folks in that area don’t think of earthquakes . . . and why should they since as far as they are aware earthquakes don’t happen in that area.

They are wrong.

While it certainly has been a very long time since the New Madrid fault had a major event, the last time a really big one occurred was in 1811 through 1812 with multiple events and smaller ones, but still major impact events, in 1843, 1895, and a smaller one in 1968. Since installing monitoring equipment in 1974, scientists have recorded over 4000 earthquakes in the area (about one a year can be felt).

What with the recent major earthquake events that have been so large to actually affect the planet’s orbit (the Argentinian and Japanese quakes) it is not unrealistic to expect that other fault systems might be affected . . . and that it would be wise to prepare folks along the New Madrid fault system just in case.

In a report filed in November 2008, The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a serious earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone could result in “the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States,” further predicting “widespread and catastrophic” damage across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and particularly Tennessee, where a 7.7 magnitude quake or greater would cause damage to tens of thousands of structures affecting water distribution, transportation systems, and other vital infrastructure. The earthquake is expected to also result in many thousands of fatalities, with more than 4,000 of the fatalities expected in Memphis alone. According to some scientists, however, that is nothing compared to what an 8.0 earthquake could do to the New Madrid Region. An earthquake of that size on the New Madrid Fault would destroy 60 percent of Memphis, killing tens of thousands and causing over $50 billion dollars in property damage in the city alone.

Read about the US Shake Out program here (be sure to read the comments as some of the folks voicing their opinions are obviously lacking in even the most basic critical thinking ability . . . the studies pointing to a need for disaster preparedness are not fantasy and they are not unique to the Obama administration, Bush’s government was aware of this too, this ain’t new news) and see some videos on the New Madrid Fault here.

This does NOT mean the government expects a major event, but it does mean that they understand one or more could happen and they’d rather have folks knowledgeable and prepared for the worst than caught completely unawares. Better to prepare and not need it than to be caught unawares.

– Brian