US Has Its Faults

Think California is the only part of the US that has geological faults? Well, you'd be very wrong. The US has several that could cause catastrophic earthquakes. The New Madrid fault in the center of the country last had four earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, estimated to be between magnitude 7.0 to 8.0. The area was sparsely populated back then so the damage to homes and buildings was very limited, although the quakes at one point caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a time. If a similar quake happened now, the effects would be devastating. Since many of the buildings in Memphis are unreinforced, they would collapse readily in a strong earthquake. Here's a link to an article at ABCnews.com that goes in to detail about what could happen: Link . It's a frightening scenario that is an all too real possibility.

Meltdown?

There's the threat of a meltdown at the reactor in Japan. Some of the fuel rods were exposed and started to overheat. They are pumping seawater in to cool down the fuel rods. Some people have been exposed to radiation  and they have been given iodine pills to help with exposure. Here's hoping they can get this situation under control quickly. The last thing the Japanese need is a nuclear accident on top of everything else.

Earthquake Photos

I was looking at photos taken after the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan and the damage is mind boggling. Some areas were completely obliterated and there are city streets completely blocked by debris. There is a photo of the large cargo containers used to ship goods that were strewn about like toys and large ships washed up on shore. There are cars on top of buildings and mud and debris piled up all over the place. It's going to take a while to restore everything back to normal. The sheer magnitude of the disaster is almost too big to comprehend. Aid is on the way and I'm sure clean up operations will be in full swing in a few days. Given the extent of the damage, I'm sure it'll be several months before any sense of normalcy will be returning to Sendai and the surrounding areas. I wish the Japanese people all the best and that they can repair the damage and get back to their regular daily lives as quickly as possible.