PROTECTINGAMERICA.ORG E-NEWS 195 Years Later: ProtectingAmerica.org Remembers
New Madrid Earthquakes Between December 1811 and February 1812, a series of magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes hit America’s heartland along the New Madrid Fault. Though a sparsely populated area in the early 19th century, a similar ‘quake occurring there today would cause immeasurable damage. Major cities within the fault zone include St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Little Rock, and Louisville. Experts continue to say that another major earthquake along the New Madrid Fault is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Dr. Buddy Schweig of the U.S. Geological Survey says that there is a 25 percent likelihood of a magnitude-6 New Madrid earthquake in the next 50 years. | Image: this map shows a side-by-side comparison of the area affected by New Madrid earthquake in 1811 and what that area would encompass today with a similar 'quake. Click on the image for a larger representation. |
This past July, ProtectingAmerica.org sponsored the 'New Madrid Awareness Tour,' joining with regional and local experts to help spread the message of preparedness to a citizenry living atop a silent terror. ProtectingAmerica.org charter member James Dalessandro toured cities along the fault, where he appeared on television and radio, and participated in public forums with disaster specialists, experts, first responders and government officials. The message: catastrophe can and will happen here, but its effects can be properly mitigated through preparedness. Read James Dalessandro’s 'New Madrid Awareness Tour' Blog, which provides journal entries from the tour and discusses what is being done to proactively prepare the region for catastrophe. Recently, emergency responders, and government and economic development officials from 17 states converged on St. Louis to discuss the importance of planning if major quakes along the fault happen again. Officials are enforcing new building codes in efforts to proactively shore up structures in and around Memphis for the possibility of another New Madrid Earthquake. Read more
New Madrid Series Reminds America of
Earthquake Threat throughout Country Earthquakes are usually synonymous with California; however, as the New Madrid Fault exhibits, the threat of earthquakes should be felt throughout the country. Earthquake in South Carolina- In 1886, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Charleston, S.C.; it took 125 lives and turned the city into makeshift tent settlements. Charleston’s ABC News takes a look back at the biggest disaster to ever hit the city.
Image: ABC News (Charleston, SC) takes a look back at the 1886 Charleston earthquake, a 7.3 magnitude quake that took 125 lives. Click on the image to read the story and view the video. |  |
Earthquake in New England- In 1755, a magnitude 7.2 to 7.4 earthquake hit Cape Ann; damages were minimal amidst a sparsely populated area, but damages today would be in the tens of billions of dollars. Read more about the earthquake threat to New England Earthquake in Washington State- According to a recent news article, Seattle is due for the 'big one.' A rupture along the Seattle Fault would kill 1,600 people, injure 24,000 others, destroy 9,700 buildings and damage about 180,000 other structures, according to a scenario put together by earthquake experts and published last year with funding from the state of Washington. Read more A new study, just released by John Anderson and Yuichiro Miyata at the University of Nevada, Reno, lists the top 10 earthquake states in America. Read more
Florida and Louisiana Regulators Call Cat Funds Key to
Stability and Affordability of Storm Coverage Insurance regulators in the nation’s two most hurricane-prone states recently indicated that an integrated program of catastrophe funds at the state and national level are the keys to stability and affordability in the homeowners insurance market. In Florida, which has already established a state catastrophe fund, the fund’s administrator told the Newhouse News Service that: 'The cat fund and the state came out smelling like a rose,' said Jack Nicholson, who runs the program at the State Board of Administration. 'We've helped maintain the market and keep things more on an even keel.' In Louisiana, which is still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, the state’s top insurance regulators told the news service: 'The best fix is a federal backstop program,' said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. 'The free market reinsurance industry does work and it will work, but it's prohibitively expensive.'
Mild 2006 Hurricane Season 'Only a Respite' The 2006 hurricane season has come and gone with only 9 named storms, falling below the expectations originally predicted on the heels of one of the worst hurricane seasons in history. However, experts are cautioning citizens to not look at the mild season and become complacent for preparing for future hurricane activity. '2006 was only a respite,' according to Robert Hartwig, chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute. 'The trend is for more hurricane activity, not less.' Read more To bolster this fact, hurricane experts like Phil Klotzbach, the lead forecaster at the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project, point to the fact that the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts are less than midway through a recurring 30-year cycle of stronger, more frequent tropical storms. That means 2005, which included hurricanes Katrina and Rita, should be considered more the norm than 2006. Read more Furthermore, Risk Management Solutions Inc., which sells catastrophe and weather-related risk-modeling software, is predicting 40 percent higher hurricane-related risks over the next five years along the Gulf Coast and in Florida and the Southeast.
Momentum Building to Improve the Way America
Prepares and Protects Itself from Disaster ProtectingAmerica.org Co-chair James Lee Witt says state and local governments in Arkansas and around the country are less prepared to deal with natural disasters than ever before. Witt says it will take a public and private partnership to help fund desperately needed mitigation and prevention programs in Arkansas and elsewhere. Read more
New Jersey Catastrophe Legislation Continues to Gain Sponsors This past June, Assemblyman Mike Panter (D-Monmouth/Mercer) introduced the 'New Jersey Consumer Catastrophe Preparedness and Protection Act.' This bill (A3236) was established to create the 'New Jersey Catastrophe Fund.' Read the Bill Panter and his supporters believe such a fund is essential because all New Jersey residents, regardless of location, are susceptible to the onslaught of disaster. The bill continues to gain momentum and now has 12 sponsors in the New Jersey State Assembly. | Assemblyman Mike Panter (left) greets ProtectingAmerica.org co-chair James Lee Witt (right) at the ProtectingNewJersey.org launch event, where New Jersey Catastrophe fund legislation was introduced |
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