As you know, a 7.9 earthquake rocked central China this week.  As many as 15,000 people are dead, and the death toll is expected to climb.  If a 7.9 earthquake were to hit the Central United States, the seismic waves could be felt from Maine to Arizona.

I could imagine what a 7.9 quake would do to the U.S.  If the New Madrid Fault were to have a 7.9, then the Midwest would suffer tremendously.  Memphis and St. Louis would be destroyed, not to mention other cities being severly damaged such as Evansville, Nashville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati just to name a few.  There would total disruption in communications and transportation, hundreds of fires caused by ruptured gas lines, water shortages due to water mains breaking, and not to mention how many people could die or be injured. 

Other areas are also just as prone to an earthquake, such as Charleston, SC, Boston, New York, and especially the West Coast.  If a major quake were to strike a smaller fault rather than the San Andreas Fault, the impacts could be much more devestating.  The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate are always sliding pass each other, creating the San Andreas Fault.  Sometimes the boundaries get stuck, causing tension and pressure, but the plates are always moving.  When enough pressure builds up, the fault gives, causing a release in tremendous pressure, in which the result is an earthquake.

The difference between the San Andreas Fault and smaller faults in the West is that the San Andreas Fault is constantly releasing small amounts of built up pressure.  The smaller fault can be releasing small or no pressure at all, causing pressure to build up and then a break in the fault, releasing the pressure, and having a major earthquake.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, and Anchorage have a great chance of witnessing an earthquake with a magnitude 8.0 or higher.  Also, Reno, Nevada has had several micro quakes since February, up to 400 or more, with a 4.5 to 4.9 quake hitting west of Reno a few weeks ago.  Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S, behind California and Alaska.

The last major city to experience a major earthquake directly was Seattle in 2001, not to mention the Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994, and the Loma Preita Earthquake of 1989 that struck San Francisco during the World Series.  The Seattle quake buckled several roads and damaged an airport control tower.  Seattle lost power briefly.  The Northridge earthquake caused several buildings to collapse, and several highway overpasses and off-ramps to collapse as well in the San Fernando Valley.  It was after the quake that the Northridge Fault was discovered, which caused the quake.  The Loma Preita quake caused liquifaction in the Marina District of San Francisco.  Buildings sank into the ground because the ground below the buildings turned into liquid from the seismic waves of the quake.  Also, Interstate 880 in Oakland collaped, killing several motorists, and a section of the Bay Bridge also collapsed as well. 

Would our government be ready to handle a disaster of this magnitude, not to mention what type of building codes are in place for every city? Sooner or later, a major earthquake will hit the United States. We can only hope that people know what to do in the event of an earthquake, and what to expect after an earthquake.

While studying weather, I study earthquakes and earthquake activity as well.