system
September 8, 1999, 2:43pm
21
I can’t see Giuliani allowing a fault to cross Broadway–he’d make it detour around three goddam blocks till it got so disgusted it just gave up and went back to Westchester.
Found sort of the cite I was looking far. This one refers to earthquakes in the eastern US (as opposed to California).
Earthquakes in the central or eastern United States affect much larger areas than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the western United States. For example, the San Francisco, California, earthquake of 1906 (magnitude 7.8) was felt 350 miles away in the middle of Nevada, whereas the New Madrid earthquake of December 1811 (magnitude 8.0) rang church bells in Boston, Massachusetts, 1,000 miles away. Differences in geology east and west of the Rocky Mountains cause this strong contrast.
and
Although earthquakes in the central and eastern United States are less frequent than in the western United States, they affect much larger areas. This is shown by two areas affected by earthquakes of similar magnitude-the 1895 Charleston, Missouri, earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone and the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake. Red indicates minor to major damage to buildings and their contents. Yellow indicates shaking felt, but little or no damage to objects, such as dishes.
This last quote had an image attached. I won’t inline it here but just give a link to it http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/QUAKES/FactSheets/NewMadrid/Charleston1895SM.gif .
All of the above are from a USGS site at http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/QUAKES/FactSheets/NewMadrid/ .
They also do a bit of panic mongering on their own…
The loss of life and destruction in recent earthquakes of only moderate magnitude (for example, 33 lives and $20 billion in the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake and 5,500 lives and $100 billion in the 1995 magnitude-6.9 Kobe, Japan, earthquake) dramatically emphasize the need for residents of the Mississippi Valley to prepare further for an earthquake of such magnitude. Earthquakes of moderate magnitude occur much more frequently than powerful earthquakes of magnitude 8 to 9; the probability of a moderate earthquake occurring in the New Madrid seismic zone in the near future is high. Scientists estimate that the probability of a magnitude 6 to 7 earthquake occurring in this seismic zone within the next 50 years is higher than 90%. Such an earthquake could hit the Mississippi Valley at any time.
Sounds like the basis of another mini-series; doesn’t it? One of the effects of the 1811 New Madrid earthquake was the creation of Reelfoot lake. This is a 10 square mile lake which was created when the ground sank; the Mississippi river flowed backwards into the lake, filling it up. Imagine the special effects sequence they could create for that!
Oh, I also found information on how this particular mid-plate fault zone was created…
A rift structure is created when powerful geologic forces begin to pull the Earth’s crust apart. If this process continues long enough, the crust separates to form an ocean basin, as happened to form the Atlantic Ocean basin. The Reelfoot Rift is called a failed rift because the Earth’s crust did not separate enough to create a new ocean basin. However, the crust was disturbed enough to form major faults that mark the axis and margins of the rift and now contribute to the occurrence of earthquakes in the NMSZ.
(From http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/QUAKES/FactSheets/HiddenHazs/.)
Whew! While I’m sure the mini-series will be exaggerated, maybe it isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.
“You can’t run away forever; but there’s nothing wrong with getting a good head start.” — Jim Steinman
Dennis Matheson — Dennis@mountaindiver.com www.mountaindiver.com
