It’s important always to trust your instincts. I woke up in the middle of the night recently because I felt like there was an earthquake. A small one but still clearly an earthquake. But I thought it was impossible because we are in Illinois. I lay there half the night, trying to figure out what it could have been if not an earthquake. And then today somebody at work mentioned that yes, there had been a 3,8 earthquake.
Feeling extremely excited to have experienced my second earthquake, I texted N with the news. His response was, “We are insured”, once again demonstrating that men are not women.
If you’re close to St. Louis, you’re near the New Madrid fault, which spawned one of the biggest earthquakes in US history.
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/new-madrid-seismic-zone
Earthquakes there are not *frequent* but it is very much an active seismic zone.
-ethyl
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Wow, I had no idea!! Incredible. Thank you, I really didn’t know.
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eyewitness accounts from the 1811-12 seismic event are *wild*. I went on a reading bender once about that. The craziest part is that we know this about that area, that it has the potential to just unzip and do catastrophic earthquakes, because it’s happened before… and I have never heard or found any info to suggest that building codes there do anything to take this into account. The last time, there was remarkably little damage, because it was so sparsely populated.
-ethyl
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New Madrid EarthquakesΒ were a series of powerful seismic events in 1811β1812, centered near New Madrid, Missouri, that were felt across much of the eastern United States.Β Β The most intense shaking was reported in the Midwest, but the quakes were also felt as far away asΒ Boston, Massachusetts, whereΒ church bells reportedly rangΒ due to the ground vibrations.Β
While some sources confirm the bells rang in Boston, others suggest the story may have originated from confusion withΒ Charleston, South Carolina, where bells also rang during the quake.Β Β The 1811β1812 quakes were among the largest in U.S. history, with estimated magnitudes betweenΒ 7.5 and 8.8, and caused dramatic effects such as theΒ Mississippi River flowing backward, the formation ofΒ Reelfoot Lake, and the destruction of the town of New Madrid.Β
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