Skywatch Media news for October 3rd 2019 the New Madrid fault is coming to
life these days and much like the Cascadia seismic fault
this one poses a series of potentially serious concerns for people living along
the 200 mile long high-risk zone on the morning of September 30th a swarm of
earthquakes struck southeastern Missouri occurring within a span of five hours
with three happening within one hour since that time this region has
experienced at least nine very shallow tremors of four to six miles in depth
back in the early 19th century the New Madrid fault was hit by some of the
largest earthquakes in history the movement of the earth was so powerful
that it rang church bells in Boston and it shook New York City located over
1,000 miles away following a large rupture in the vault the Mississippi
River was forced to run backwards for many hours which devastated the forests
of this region back then this part of the country was sparsely populated but
today millions of people live in the cities of st. Louis and Memphis making
this zone one of the biggest concerns for FEMA in November 2008 the federal
government issued a warning that a significant earthquake in this zone
could result in the highest economic losses in the United States the report
predicted widespread catastrophic damage across 11 states in the Midwest
and in the south not only would a major earthquake severely affect the
infrastructure but it would result in thousands of fatalities a computer
simulation of a major quake created by the simultaneous rupture of three
segments of the New Madrid Seismic zone depicts the extent of
the wave motion across multiple states
what this agency report has shown is that catastrophic damage would occur
across a vast portion of the United States involving at least eight states
in a scenario that involves a magnitude 7.7 earthquake along the New Madrid
fault line and the Wabash Valley seismic zone a quake of this strength or larger
would result in significant structure collapse and the shutdown of water
distribution and transportation systems across interstate boundaries there is
also the probability that additional damage will occur in states that are
further from the New Madrid Seismic zone such as those that border the East
Tennessee seismic zone the states that would be the most severely affected
would include Tennessee Arkansas and Missouri noting that the cities of St.
Louis and Memphis would be severely impacted figures established by the
federal government emphasize that a major earthquake along this fault
line would result in at least eighty six thousand casualties thirty-five hundred
of which are fatalities 750,000 damaged or impaired buildings 7.5 million
residents displaced with two million seeking immediate shelter the
accumulated impact of an earthquake disaster of this magnitude would result
in economic losses of at least 300 billion dollars
these are serious figures that are being made public by the Federal Office of
disaster management in an effort to address a situation that in all
likelihood will occur at some given time along the New Madrid fault being
prepared for these events is and should be the number one priority of those who
live in these seismically active zones and this is exactly how officials in
these regions are reacting to the warnings
that are being issued in May of this year an exercise called shaken Fury 2019
was conducted by a number of communities in the New Madrid zone on how to prepare
and respond to a sudden and massive earthquake the exercise which
included FEMA involved the 7.7 earthquake scenario along the southern
end of the fault that would directly affect the states listed here the
purpose of the exercise was to establish informational sharing practices in the
event of a sudden earthquake to consolidate local state and federal
response efforts and to validate the aid resource planning capabilities
according to the USGS records the series of earthquakes happening more than two
hundred years ago were in the 7.0 or higher magnitude range so if a repeat of
a similar magnitude strength were to occur now it would be devastating this
is because any building not already designed to resist earthquakes today
would be severely damaged in addition any communities located in counties that
border major rivers that flow through the fault zone would become susceptible
to liquefaction which means the solid ground above the water table would give
way allowing the loose sandy soil and water to rise thus becoming like a
wave of quicksand in a scene that is surreal
in terms of the response surrounding the probability of a seismic event similar
to the 1811-1812 earthquakes the likelihood of a repeat in the range of
seven and a half or eight on a scale stands at roughly 10% whereas the
probability of an earthquake of magnitude six or larger may be closer to
forty percent in which case the chances of a large magnitude event along the New
Madrid fault grows more probable with each passing day what's so striking with
respect to a catastrophic event in this seismic zone is its capability to affect
such a large heavily populated portion of the United States which could trigger
a national response much greater than any recorded earthquake in modern US
history which tells us a lot about this seismic zone and the dangers that it
poses in the times in which we live it is imperative to know and understand the
hazards associated with earthquakes and other catastrophic events and the
importance of becoming familiar with disaster preparedness this would require
becoming self-sufficient storing food water and medical supplies because as is
all too often the case help may not arrive for days or even weeks and in a
worst-case scenario for months so being prepared is your best option in all the
days in which we have dwelt upon this earth we have looked to the sky for
answers to the biggest questions that involve ourselves and that of the human
race who we are where we came from and where we are going that day will come it
will shine upon us alike the Morning Sun catching the light of truth and
understanding thanks for watching