Coming: a New Madrid Megaquake
While San Andreas and Cascadia are well known for their potential to cause megaquakes, researchers have warned a little-known fault in the midwest is also long overdue a tremor.
The New Madrid Seismic Zone is 150 miles long, and experts say a quake would impact seven states – Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
They claim ‘all hell would break loose,’ with 715,000 buildings damaged and 2.6m people left without power.
The New Madrid Seismic Zone is 150 miles long, and experts say a quake would impact seven states – Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois released a report in 2009, which suggested the effects of a force seven or stronger quake from the fault line.
Current Prices on popular forms of Silver Bullion
Amr Elnashai, the study’s lead author, wrote ‘All hell will break loose.’
The 150-mile (240 km) long fault system, which extends into five states, stretches southward from Cairo, Illinois; through Hayti, Caruthersville and New Madrid in Missouri; through Blytheville into Marked Tree in Arkansas.
It also covers a part of West Tennessee, near Reelfoot Lake, extending southeast into Dyersburg. It is southwest of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone.
Most of the seismicity is located between 3 and 15 miles (4.8 and 24.1 km) beneath the Earth’s surface, researchers believe.
The area has not seen significant earthquakes for more than 200 years.
In the winter of 1811 and 1812, there were three earthquakes of magnitude 7 – as high as 7.7 – and a series of aftershocks across the American Midwest.
The post Coming: a New Madrid Megaquake appeared first on LewRockwell.
Leave a Reply