Cataclysm - Is it going to happen to you?

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by lazepoo

I was living near Chicago when there was a tremor there last year... it was a very weird sound, especially for someone from the Midwest that's never heard anything like it. The buildings here aren't ready for it at all, either. I don't think it would cripple the nation, but it would be really bad – probably worse than Katrina or at least in the same ballpark.

I read a book called The Rift, a fictional account of what would happen if a series of New Madrid quakes hit in modern times. The book was very reasoned and frankly, scary as hell. West coast quakes are localized and contained due to the mountains - a midwest quake would cause major damage for hundreds of miles in every direction because there's nothing to stop it. The last one rang church bells in Washington and Boston. Buildings and bridges aren't built to earthquake code, and would be extremely vulnerable. Plus, think about all the pipelines that follow the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico. All of those would rupture, horribly polluting the river and cutting off fuel supplies. The river would also become largely unusable by commercial boats as its course would shift.

Very scary shit.