The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-12

The quake buckled the earth and caused noticeable ripples on the surface like a dirt wave. It rang church bells 1,000 miles away in Boston. It changed the course of the Mississippi River locally and created Reelfoot Lake. Could be a scene out of a movie. But this one was real.

It occurred in the winter of 1811-12 in Midwestern America near New Madrid, Missouri. Two magnitude 8 quakes shook the region and set the earth up for more--coming to a future near you. This region is situated on top of what is known as Reelfoot Rift. Rifts occur when the earth splits apart and forms an ocean basin. Reelfoot Rift did not split apart enough to create an ocean, so the middle of the United States is sitting on a major rift at the center of a major fault line. The earthquake that struck in the early 1800s was the strongest on record in the U.S.

The effects of such a high magnitude earthquake are far more damaging east of the Rocky Mountains. Scientists estimate a 9 in 10 chance of another midcontinental quake occurring within the next 50 years. In Peoria, Illinois, the bridges crossing the Illinois River over to East Peoria are in constant repair due to the earth's movement. People in the New Madrid area can sometimes feel small tremors because earthquakes are always happening to a small degree. In Tennessee, new buildings have been constructed to add more "give" to a structure during an earth shaking.

How can you prepare for what's coming, possibly within the next few years? Probably the best way is to take stock of yourself and your family. You don't know for sure if you can hang onto your possessions, so nothing else is going to matter. With a high magnitude quake centered in the New Madrid region, loss of property and life will be high. Some individuals, sensitive to movements of the earth's crust in that region, have plans to move within the next few years--west of the Rocky Mountains. The tremors will no doubt affect the entire United States, other parts of the world, and possibly set off other seismic reactions. Earthquakes are happening around the world every day. Many are deep within the earth at a depth and magnitude that can't be felt. But mentally preparing for a major one now is inevitably your decision.

The New Madrid earthquakes are a wake-up call for those of us living in this century. We have more at stake building-wise now as this region has matured. Learning more about quakes and the devastation they can leave behind is something to be embraced, not feared. This is the case particularly in a region where a major rift in the earth could have created an ocean basin, but instead split just enough apart to cradle a fault line.