That’s the warning from the state’s emergency management agency.
February is Earthquake Preparedness Month in Illinois, commemorating the 1812 earthquake on the New Madrid fault that shook with so much force that it was said to have been felt in Quebec and Boston. The tremors were estimated around 7 on the Richter Scale, but the technology was not around at the time to get an exact measurementBy comparison, a 2008 earthquake centered near Mount Carmel, Illinois, registered 5.4.
There was minimal damage in 1812 because there wasn’t much built in the area. Today, however, would be a different story.
“We now have a lot of infrastructure that would be severely impacted if we had another earthquake of that large magnitude,” Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Annie Thompson said.
IEMA estimates that a similar quake would cause $60 billion to $80 billion in damage today. It’s because of the complex infrastructure.
“There would be roads and bridges out and pipelines that would have burst,” Thompson said.
More than 40 million people now live within the region hit by the quake of 1812.
Thompson points to ready.illinois.gov for a number of tips to be ready for the next earthquake. While she said there are a number of things you can do to make your home earthquake-ready, few are more important than securing the water heater.
“If it shakes loose, we’re not just talking about water. We’re talking about a ruptured gas line,” she said.
Thompson said that the agency coordinates with agencies across the world to participate in the Great ShakeOut, an earthquake preparedness drill being held this year on Oct. 19. IEMA also works closely with private groups like the Red Cross when these disasters happen because there is often a large influx of private giving and volunteering during times of crises.
http://myjournalcourier.com/news/106298/state-emergency-officials-say-1812-earthquake-would-devastate-if-it-occurred-today
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