Topic: New Madrid Fault

I. Are you ready for disaster? Assess your risk

August 4, 2008 |

Editors Note: We are offering a reprint of this five-part article, published on Daily Kos and originally published online by AlphaGeek {9.9.05}. From the diaries — Plutonium Page. The series offers a practical way to assess risk and prepare a variety of disaster scenarios. The series will appear chapter by chapter at 3 p.m. today through Friday.

Something bad is going to happen, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Preparing to deal with a disaster is like going off of a ski jump. If you put off your planning until things start happening, it’s far too late to make much of a difference. Once you’re headed down that ski jump, the time for planning and preparation is over.

On the other hand, being prepared for disaster does not have to be time-consuming or expensive. In this multi-part series of DailyKos Diaries, I will share with you, dear reader, many of the lessons I’ve learned regarding the most effective ways to prepare for an emergency.

This is the first installment in a multi-part series on personal disaster preparedness. Your humble correspondent is a Silicon Valley technical executive with both professional and personal experience in risk assessment and disaster-readiness planning. Links to reference materials, including planning guides and reference information, will be found at the end of the final Diaries in this series. «Read the rest of this article»

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Update: Illinois earthquake shakes Clarksville

By Bill Larson | April 18, 2008 |

If you felt the earth shake, rattle and roll this morning, you were NOT dreaming.

At approximately 4:36 a.m this morning, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake located near Gards Point Illinois rattled buildings and caused minor damage. The quake was felt as far as the Chicago area, and even into Arkansas. The earthquake was easily felt in Clarksville, Tennessee as it was reported by multiple callers to 911, and by police officers over the public safety radio system.The quake occurred on a fault line adjacent to the New Madrid fault.

The New Madrid has been quiet for over a century, but is notorious for its devastating clusters of quakes in 1811-1812.

Here’s some information on the quake from the USGS Web site. «Read the rest of this article»

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