Earthquake Maps Reveal Higher Risks for Much of U.S.
New government maps extend hazard zones in eastern, central, and western U.S
Look out, South Carolina, Illinois, and Missouri. Although California is well known for earthquakes, new federal government maps extend the high-risk zones for temblors across much more of the country.
On Thursday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) announced updated U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps, which reflect the most current scientific views on where future earthquakes will occur, how often they will occur, and how hard the ground will shake.
Since the agency's previous maps were released in 2008, "the general patterns of earthquakes across the U.S. have not changed significantly, but lots of the details have changed," says Mark Petersen, who leads the USGS's mapping efforts from Denver as chief of the National Seismic Hazard Project.
The 16 states at highest risk of quakes are Alaska, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140717-usgs-earthquake-maps-disaster-risk-science/
antiquie
(4,299 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)Louisiana1976
(3,962 posts)system.
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)NeoGreen
(4,031 posts)... a comparison map of before and after Fracking (i.e. before and after 2003?) and see what geographical areas are highlighted... Oklahoma?... anyone?
raven mad
(4,940 posts)We had a 5.2 yesterday!
starroute
(12,977 posts)New Madrid is well known, and there was a major earthquake in Charleston in 1886. But Knoxville? Apparently so -- and making it worse is that there are no earthquake building codes in the eastern US, so those areas are completely unprepared.
http://www.wate.com/story/20076108/ut-scientist-says-east-tennessee-could-one-day-see-75-magnitude-earthquake
Hatcher said East Tennessee has the second most active seismic zone in the Eastern United States, but that normally the earthquakes in East Tennessee are smaller, keeping damage to a minimum.
That may not always be the case.
Hatcher said evidence shows there has been a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in the area, but the large earthquake happened hundreds of years ago.
"The people who figure probability on earthquakes for the U.S. Geological Survey say this area could produce a magnitude 7.5," he said.
catbyte
(34,398 posts)Chicago will sustain heavy damage. Scary thought.
Roy Serohz
(236 posts)They didn't include man-made quakes.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Response to octoberlib (Original post)
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