United States Department of Transportation
i
Preparing for a significant central U.S. earthquake : science needs of the emergency response community.
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2009-02-01
[PDF-514.59 KB]
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Abstract:The New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones are capable of producing large magnitude earthquakes that could cause significant damage and interrupt the east to west flow of transportation, communication, electricity, natural gas and oil across the central United States. A large magnitude quake also could disrupt the movement of coal, fertilizer, or agricultural products to anfrom ports along the middle Mississippi and lower Ohio Rivers as well as disrupt the lives of countless residents of the Central U.S. The USGS and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information of the University of Memphis estimate that for a 50-year period, the probability of a repeat of the 1811-1812 earthquake (magnitude 7.5-8.0) is 7-10 percent, and the probabilmagnitude 6.0 or larger is 25-40 percent. Unlike earthquakes that occur in southern California, the causes and effects of earthquakes in the central and eastern United States are just beginning to be understood. In addition, earthquakes in the central and eastern United States tend to affect a much larger area.
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