Central US Faces High Risk of Devastating Earthquake, Warn Experts

For years, experts have warned that a very disastrous earthquake may hit the central US and as the years draw by, the pending disaster seems to be growing closer. Preparations for this event need to be made to reduce the impact or damages the earthquake will cause. 

(Photo : COSTAS METAXAKIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Areas Prone to Earthquake

On Thursday, hundreds of emergency managers, transportation leaders, geologists, and others concerned about earthquake preparedness was at St. Louis for the yearly Missouri Earthquake Summit. This meeting was held to discuss the latest updates on the earthquake and ways to plan, prepare and strategize before the coming of the earthquake.

According to previous historic earthquake disaster, disastrous earthquake is mostly associated with the West Coast judging from the 1989 disastrous earthquake that claimed the lives of 63 people with about 3,800 people injured.

Also, the New Madrid Fault Line centered near the southeast Missouri town of New Madrid historical earthquake in 1811 and 1812. This massive earthquake has a magnitude of about 7.5 to 7.7, it sank a lot of farmlands and caused the great Mississippi river to flow backward, as per Phys.org.

After this massive earthquake, the faultline has been receiving just little earthquakes although there are warnings that an earthquake as big as the previous historic earthquake might be expected in the future. 

Also Read: Earthquakes Detected Near North Korea Nuclear Site as Testing Resumes

Possibilities of Greater Quakes in the Next 50 Years  

There was once a prediction by climatologist Iben Browning on a high chance of the big earthquake happening on Dec 3, 1990, this caused a lot of panic and attention on the theorized upcoming big threat. Fortunately, the predictions were false and only drew attention to the new Madrid big quake preparations.

Although this prediction turned out to be false, experts still believe that the prediction might come to pass as there are high chances of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hitting new Madrid in the next 50 years, also there are chances of smaller quakes high magnitude like 6.0 still hitting the faultline.

This earthquake according to experts could cause the fall of the mississippi bridge and major highways including Interstate 55 could buckle, oil and gas pipelines could break, leading to nationwide disruptions. The event may also displace about 850,000 people in up to eight states. 

Preparation for Strong Earthquakes 

Some communities are at a very high pace in preparation for the earthquake. In Memphis, an amount of  $260 million retrofit has been channeled to about 40 bridges within the city. Also, houses were built with a very high standard to reduce the impact the quake will cause.

The St. Louis bridge in mississippi river was built with preparations for earthquakes as the foundation goes all the way down to the bedrock of the river to keep it standing even after the pending disastrous event.

Although, preparations started over a decade ago, there are still so much more protection to do especially in homes and commercial buildings.

Sarah Russell, commissioner of emergency management for St. Louis said: "We always encourage people to look at their insurance coverage, look at things like your utilities, if you have a hot water heater, making sure it's strapped," according to Abc News.

Related Article: 5 Deadliest Earthquakes Ever Recorded Across the World

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