Quote:
Originally posted by tw
What happens when you build on soft, wet soil and an earthquake occurs? America's worst quakes are not in CA. The New Madrid quake, a century event, is long overdue. Memphis is right in the area. The last New Madrid quake was so violent that it rang church bells in Boston and toppled scaffolding around the Capitol dome in Washington DC.
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11 years ago, a geologist by the name of Iben Browning said that there would be a 50/50 chance of a strong to severe earthquake striking the New Madrid during the first week of December 1990. St. Louis and Memphis both lay directly in its wake.
So what happened? People freaked out. Thousands showing up for earthquake preparedness classes, people pulling their kids out of school. Near-pandemonium. December 3rd and 4th came and went--nothing. Only a mild tremor in late November. Browning died in mid-1991.
In any case, when the New Madrid Quake strikes (and for reference, the three big ones that struck in 1811 and 1812 would not have registered on a seismograph and made the Mississippi River run backwards), it will simply be devastating--particularly for Eastern Missouri and St. Louis. Most of Southeastern Missouri used to be lead mines, hence many of the areas are caves. St. Louis is also built over caves. While the majority of newer buildings are earthquake-safe, I fear that half of my beloved city (including my parents home, which was built on an old landfill, I believe) will crumble.