Experts: More than a Billion Dollar Danger for New Madrid Fault
The greatest concern along the New Madrid Fault is potential loss of life, but there's a financial cost to consider, too. A new estimate says the danger has doubled for states like Missouri and Illinois and all those along the New Madrid Fault Zone.
The USGS shared this daunting graphic on their Facebook page this week. It's a map showing the concentrated damage expected when/if the New Madrid Fault were to have a major quake.
The USGS shared comments on why the financial danger is rising especially in the Midwest.
The overall earthquake risk continues to outpace the seismic mitigation efforts in our country,” said Kishor Jaiswal, USGS research civil engineer. “In addition to better new buildings, further attention could be given to improving earthquake-hazard and risk research targeted at identifying and cost-effectively retrofitting existing vulnerable structures.
It appears that seismologists don't think that the buildings in the region that would be directly affected by a New Madrid Fault earthquake are being modernized fast enough to protect against a major quake.
The USGS and FEMA say that this is a national problem with a potential at-risk amount of $107.8 trillion dollars. That is a staggering number.
It's important to note that this new report from the USGS does NOT say the chance of a major New Madrid quake has risen. It's just the financial repercussions of the feared major quake could have on those of us that live here.