Get Ready to Shake Out, Not Freak Out During an Earthquake

DEM Blogger

October 15, 2019

The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut is an annual opportunity to practice how to be safer during big earthquakes: “Drop, Cover and Hold On.” The ShakeOut has also been organized to encourage you, your community, your school, or your organization to review and update emergency preparedness plans and supplies, and to secure your space in order to prevent damage and injuries.

In Kentucky, the Great Central US Shakeout is Thursday, October 17, 2019. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to practice what they’d do in case of an earthquake at 10:17 am.

In the past 25 years, scientists have learned that strong earthquakes in the central Mississippi Valley are not freak events but have occurred repeatedly in the geologic past. The area of major earthquake activity also has frequent minor shocks and is known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The NMSZ is made up of several thrust faults that stretch from Marked Tree, Arkansas to Cairo, Illinois.

Earthquakes in the central or eastern United States affect much larger areas than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the western United States. For example, the San Francisco, California, earthquake of 1906 (magnitude 7.8) was felt 350 miles away in the middle of Nevada, whereas the New Madrid earthquake of December 1811 rang church bells in Boston, Massachusetts, 1,000 miles away. Differences in geology east and west of the Rocky Mountains cause this strong contrast.
New Madrid Seismic Zone. Central United States Earthquake Consortium.

Recent studies have indicated that the New Madrid Seismic Zone is not the only ‘hot spot’ for earthquakes in the Central United States. On June 18, 2002, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck Evansville, Indiana with an epicenter between Mt. Vernon and West Franklin in Posey County, in an area that is part of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. According to the Indiana University Indiana Geological Survey, while there was minor damage associated with the earthquake, the tremor was a warning to residents of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone that earthquakes can, and do, strike close to home.

The Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is located in Southeastern Illinois and Southwestern Indiana and it is capable of producing ‘New Madrid’ size earthquake events. Since the discovery of this seismic zone, earthquake awareness and preparedness have increased. Residents are seeing that moderate-sized earthquakes are not just occurring to the south, but occur right at home and can affect Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Geologists in Indiana and Illinois have found liquefaction sites and sand dikes that shows the evidence of prehistoric earthquakes in the region. By examining the size of the dikes and sediment found within the sand dikes, geologists are able to estimate the size of the earthquake it took to create the formations.
Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. Central United States Earthquake Consortium.