Hey, aren't you glad you don't live out in California, where you could be killed any day by an earthquake? Don't be too glad -- you do live near another fault line.
During the winter of 1811-1812, at least three powerful earthquakes (believed to be magnitude 8 or above) and thousands of aftershocks were felt in America's heartland, in what's known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The region impacts parts of eight states, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.
"They were felt into Canada, up in the Montreal region and that would be almost 1,200 miles away," said Arch Johnston, director of the Earthquake Research and Information Center at the University of Memphis.
The area was sparsely populated then, so it didn't matter much. But today, "We're looking at about 11 million people at risk . . . " When is something reallly big likely to happen?
The events of 1811-1812 were not a fluke. Geologic records show that similar strong earthquakes took place in the same region about 900 AD, and about 1450 AD, roughly at 500 year intervals.
Which is why emergency managers and other public officials have the difficult job of preparing a population for a natural disaster that may not happen for generations.
But it may happen tomorrow.
