[two bits]

With less than 200 miles between me and New Madrid, Missouri, how soon will people realize just what happened when the big one hits? That TSHTF just then!
Do you think there will be mandatory evacuations? If so, how soon? If so, how far from the epicenter?
They claim during the last time of upheaval, the trees laid over, streams & rivers changed their course, land slides, & soil subsidence was prevalent.
With how many people now?
They estimate 3500 dead, 80,000 injured, & 7 million homeless.
My home is a stick home, may slide around on the foundation, but I think can be repaired.( liveable) I am aware of my flues coming down so everybody in the household has been warned to stay from certain rooms.
But, all those brick structures, store building.......what a mess?
Your thoughts of preparedness?

 

[hzuiel]

It is unlikely an evacuation would ever be orchestrated since it is not too likely that they will be able to predict when an event might take place.

The usual preps, food, water, a generator. Might want to get a good quality family size tent sufficient to house all members of your family in any weather, incase the house appears to be unsafe after the quake(i wouldn't even chance it myself until an inspector had had a chance to look the place over.) Secure anything that could become dangerous during a quake, like for instance if you have a grandfather clock, make sure it is secured to the wall behind it, so it doesn't topple over onto anybody. Out in california they receive quakes so often that they have to secure doors to china cabinets, tv's have to be secured to something, and they often don't have fragile decorations on tables. These things are probably too much for someone living in the midwest, but be aware that if there is a big one, you will likely lose all the contents of your kitchen cabinets, china cabinets, and everything breakable on shelves, as well as any tvs sitting unsecured on tables or shelves. A 4 wheeler might be handy. If you needed to travel and get supplies, you could go around or over many obstacles where other vehicles might not. As if storms blowing trees over wasn't enough of a threat, you might want to look at having trees near your house removed or topped so they present less of a risk to falling over on your home.

I'm sure it would be ridiculously expensive but you could have a contractor update your home to make it safer during an earthquake, whatever that involves.

 

[two bits]

I think a lot of small towns/villages will be isolated fairly quickly due to bridges out, power lines across roads, and trees. Don't think very many people think of this stuff. Not alone the water main breaks, and normal services people take for granite will be gone!
I think some towns will fair better than others due to their location, geography, and soil classification. Rumers will a bound, where government assistance will be helping people. What if they're not there? Will people just walk away to look for assistance? Maybe just follow the arrows. Can you say, New Orleans?
How many of your neighbors will walk away? In communities or rural or suburbia, it won't matter. Or will they come to your house? What do they know they shouldn't?

 

[Illini Warrior]

the biggest worry now is whether the nuk plants in the quake zone will stay together .... wasn't as much a concern til the Japanese nuk plant caved in .... Illinois has a plant on the north edge of the predicted zone .... Tennessee is just loaded with hydro & nuk plants ....

St Louis is just going to get flattened .... alot of the big river bridges are coming down or being damaged ....

 

[Nomad 2nd]

See my post here:
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=337570

Look for the NLE 2011 notes and use them, but be careful. They are "overly optimistic"

When (during the exercise) all forms of communications failed in 4 hours they "brought email back on line" for the purposes of the exercise... Then convinantly forgot this "pretend" move at the end of the exercise.

So estimates are based on instantaneous communication.
(few other fantasies in there too)

Also, no one died of bad water after 3 days without, people that died due to kidney failure were due to kidney failure rather than the quake not allowing dialisis....

Not a huge threat, but that close... You'd be wise to consider it and inform yourself. You won't have an issue convincing people it happened, they will just expect help quickly, when, if it's "the big one" it could take 3 months or more.

 

[two bits]

Nomad...... So how conveniently they forgot it was pretend? There is some scenarios they haven't imagined! Sounds like a poorly thought out excerise. May be in the list of what if......... But not fully understood.
Thanks for the comments. Just what I'm looking for, off the wall, outside the box, way out there real feed back loops. They need an outside source to analyze the exercise.

 

[hzuiel]

Something to think about is even bridges that don't collapse or show obvious signs of damage will still be closed until they can be inspected and tested for structural integrity, and the only people who could ignore a bridge being closed might be a military convoy. Civilian traffic including trucks with food for all the stores will likely be trapped in localized areas because of bridge closings.

 

[Creek Walker]

What you'll have to really deal with is liquification of the soil following a major quake and in the Midwest this phenomenon will be amplified.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

Nomad...... So how conveniently they forgot it was pretend? There is some scenarios they haven't imagined! Sounds like a poorly thought out excerise. May be in the list of what if......... But not fully understood.
Thanks for the comments. Just what I'm looking for, off the wall, outside the box, way out there real feed back loops. They need an outside source to analyze the exercise.

Well, it was a 7 state exercise, and I can only speak for the one I was in... But I'd bet a dollar it was like that all over.

It was a pretty good exercise, but the problem with soemthing like that... Is the organizations are invested in their organizations success.

 

[two bits]

We mention bridge inspections, well shucks, who you gonna call? Think about that one for a minute. No communications, no trasportation, no office to report to.You know them guys aren't never coming back! All the people that we expect/depend on in very ordinary day to day life will be gone! Period. Its almost like speeding, who is going to care? Like fishing, who is going to demand to see our fishing license? It will be a world of unbelievable. FUBAR!

 

[Mule Skinner]

Sorry but I gotta make this worse. In recent days there has been very cold weather. So let's propose that the quake happens on the first of several temperature zero days AND that the gas lines break. Thus there is no heat...

Fine if you have your own tank and it wasn't damaged, but lots of people will be looking for a warm refuge.

 

[two bits]

Sorry but I gotta make this worse. In recent days there has been very cold weather. So let's propose that the quake happens on the first of several temperature zero days AND that the gas lines break. Thus there is no heat...

Fine if you have your own tank and it wasn't damaged, but lots of people will be looking for a warm refuge.

And how would you deal with that? I expect there will be lots of buildings lying on the ground that , I guess could be used for a fire. Best of my knowledge, natural gas is pumped. It takes electricity! We know that the power lines will be down, so at what extent will the gas stay on anyway, 24 hours?
I was just imagining the power going out the other night when that polar front came through. Blew and blew! But my lights never flickered. What if they had? What if, that had been much worse? I've seen the power go down on a lot less wind.
I bet chainsaws will be dime a dozen, when the gas runs out? Do you think people will loose it?

 

[Dobbs]

I am about 180 miles by Hwy or 80 miles as the crow flyies.

 

[Phantom6]

I'm about 350 miles to the east in the Cumberland Mountains of E. TN. According to the last FEMA report there is a 90 percent chance that an earthquake of magnitude 6 or 7 will strike along the New Madrid Fult in the next 50 years resulting in the deaths of over 6,000 people throughout the affected area. There is no doubt that we'll feel both physical as well as social repercussions over here. As a matter of fact I woud wager that the whole dam country would feel the damage from such an event. First of all, a large section of particularly the South and the Mid West and quite possibly the entire eastern half of the country will most likely be flung into a "Grid- Down" situation. Lots of gas and oil transmission lines run through the area carrying power and energy resources from Texas and Oklahoma to the North East. Throw in the railroads and busted up interstate system and it will be a logistical nightmare.

 

[two bits]

Atlanta X 20?

 

[petergunn]

Sorry but I gotta make this worse. In recent days there has been very cold weather. So let's propose that the quake happens on the first of several temperature zero days AND that the gas lines break. Thus there is no heat...

Fine if you have your own tank and it wasn't damaged, but lots of people will be looking for a warm refuge.

As those gas lines rupture I'm sure some will ignite so if cold just head for the big fireball.

 

[two bits]

I am about 180 miles by Hwy or 80 miles as the crow flyies.

Dodds.......what special protections or provivisions are you doing? Knowing that probably the whole area will turn into an inland lake/sea. I may have lake side property? Lots of water sloshing around. Are you making plans to ecavacuate the family if need be? Headed which direction?

 

[dcporlando]

Dodds.......what special protections or provivisions are you doing? Knowing that probably the whole area will turn into an inland lake/sea. I may have lake side property? Lots of water sloshing around. Are you making plans to ecavacuate the family if need be? Headed which direction?

Why do people think it will be an inland sea/lake? It has had an earthquake before and is not currently a lake. Why would that change?

 

[Sailorsam]

sounds like the basics--food, water (source), heat--would be good preps.
and a battery radio, maybe one of those solar/crank jobs.
I guess part of the problem is that no one really know the effects, or how widespread.
I read somewhere that in the previous quake (1814?) church bells in Boston rang from the tremors. oy.

 

[ambos lados]

Earthquake Preps

California has a lot of experience with earthquakes. While some fatalities may be the luck of the draw, there is a lot that can be done to secure your home and be more prepared as you travel around the earthquake zone.

The 2 main areas to look at are securing or removing heavy, tall, or high objects that could fall over, (e.g. water heaters, bookcases, etc.), and fire prevention and preparedness (e.g. tools and knowledge to shut off gas, power, evacuation plans. Lots of good information and first-hand accounts on the web.

A 3rd area is investigating the subsoil conditions in your area, and taking seriously the danger of subsidence to buildings located on clay and silt near water. If you love your riverside location, read up on damage to the Marina district in SF in '89, and make it your business to know whether your subsoil is going to turn to jelly.