Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japan Quake Hits Close To Home
Japan suffered a devastation earthquake that measured a magnitude of 8.9, now comes the question could the US be next?
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund
Save the children emergency fund
Seven States in the United States lie on what is known as the New Madrid Fault line. The Earthquakes that occur in the New Madrid Seismic Zone potentially threaten parts of seven American states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.
While the Japanese are very familiar with earthquakes, what would happen in places where the people are unfamiliar?
Since 1812 frequent smaller earthquakes were recorded in the area. The last report in this particular area was in 2007.
In October 2009, a team composed of University of Illinois and Virginia Tech researchers headed by Amr S. Elnashai, funded by FEMA, considered a scenario where all three segments of the New Madrid fault ruptured simultaneously.
The report found Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri most severely impacted, with Illinois and Kentucky also impacted but not as seriously. The cities of Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri would be severely damaged.
The New Madrid fault zone is six times bigger than the San Andreas fault zone in California and it covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.
The biggest earthquakes in the history of the United States were caused by the New Madrid fault. Now there are fears that the New Madrid fault zone could be coming to life again, and if a "killer earthquake" does strike it could change all of our lives forever.
Also read:
New Madrid Earthquake Website: New Update
The following video is from ABC News produced after the earthquake in Haiti. Remember this is before
Japan's recent earthquake.
For those wanting more speculation without hard facts, this video may be entertaining.
