The New Madrid Seismic Zone(NMSZ) has been in the watchful eyes of scientists, geologists, and end-of-times theorists since the last time it ruptured during a two month period in 1811-1812, when it reached seismic magnitudes of 7.0 – 8.0.
NMSZ is the most active seismic area in the United States. It is a 150 mile fault stretching from Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana, and Alabama. The actual fault is 3 to 15 miles underground making this particular seismic zone unpredictable. According to Missouri’s GSP (Geological Survey Program), NMSZ is about 30 years overdue for an earthquake of 6.3 magnitudes or higher considering it has been 100 years since a quake of that size occurred.
When the NMSZ ruptures, it is supposed to set off a chain of other faults, resulting in the most devastating earthquake the U.S. has ever seen. The waves of this earthquake are said to reach from the Mid-West to all of the east coast.
Lori Sessano, a Major in the National Guard Bureau, works in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and is working toward her PhD in Emergency Management, tells us not be scared, but to be prepared.
“People should begin identifying safe spots and danger zones in their home, purchase earthquake insurance, and begin collecting first aid kids including: water, canned food, battery powered radio, extra clothing and blankets. They should know how to shut off all utilities, repair defective electrical wiring, install flexible lines to water heaters and other appliances and be sure all heavy objects are mounted,” Sessano said.
But a few damaged houses and personal items is not all we should be worried about.
“Tennessee is predicted to sustain the highest level of damage. Over 250,000 buildings are expected to be damaged and over 60,000 causalities (injuries and fatalities) are expected to occur. Missouri is also expected to have substantial damage and loss. Over 80,000 buildings damaged and around 15,000 causalities (injuries and fatalities),” Sessano said.
With Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana, and Alabama all in the vicinity of NMSZ, economic losses are expected to reach $206 billion.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was created in order to support citizens in the event of disaster; this is where they come into play.
“FEMA embedded support planners in each of the four participating FEMA regions and in each of the eight NMSZ states, to facilitate scenario-driven planning and identification of required resources based on a bottom-up local approach. This helps ensure cross-jurisdictional and cross-discipline integration of plans, vertically, and horizontally across all levels of government. The planners help the regions and states plan and execute the workshops, provide follow-up assistance to local jurisdictions in each state, and incorporate the outcomes of the planning workshops in to each states earth quake plan. Basically what this means is that there are FEMA earthquake experts that are stationed in each of the NMSZ regions. What the intent is, FEMA will be able to collaborate with state, local, and municipal governments for the planning process and reporting when the event actually takes place,” Sessano said.
All of the information in this article can be found at:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/
http://sema.dps.mo.gov/
http://www.asisonline.org/
http://www.fema.gov/
