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.