Earthquakes are a fascinating natural phenomenon. The Midwest has waited for another potential "big one" along the New Madrid Fault for more then 200 years. I found some interesting data that doesn't focus on one big quake, but shows what's happened near New Madrid, Missouri for the last decade. The numbers are startling.

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Since February is Shakeout Month in Missouri in an effort to raise earthquake awareness, I decided to do a deep dive into what activity has happened in the New Madrid region for the past 10 years. You might want to sit down for this. From the period of February in 2013 through February of 2023, there have been more than 3,500 measurable quakes. Here's what the USGS map looks like.

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USGS
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During that 10-year period, there have been many significant quakes felt by hundreds with the largest being a magnitude 4.1 on November 18, 2021.

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Recent activity along the New Madrid Fault has also been interesting with a 3.0 quake registered earlier this month. Does it mean that the feared 7.7 quake that the USGS has done studies about is imminent? Of course not.

The concern is that this year's Missouri Earthquake Summit at the beginning of February warned the state is not prepared for a potential damaging quake should that day ever come. Actually, I should say that differently. That day WILL come. There's just no way to know if it will come in our lifetime. When you live near a fault line that has been shaken with over 3,500 quakes in a decade, it's inevitable that a major quake will happen someday.

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