The New Madrid Earthquake of 2009 consists of a series of unfinished short stories about the results of a major, catastrophic earthquake on the New Madrid fault.
The New Madrid fault is responsible for several of the most violent earthquakes experienced in the recorded history of the United States. The fault is in the vicinity of New Madrid, Tennessee and an 8.0 or larger quakes would have very serious consequences.
Photo by jimmywayne22 on Flickr
The New Madrid fault is responsible for several of the most violent earthquakes experienced in the recorded history of the United States. The fault is in the vicinity of New Madrid, Tennessee and an 8.0 or larger quakes would have very serious consequences.
Photo by jimmywayne22 on Flickr
The New Madrid Quake of 2009
First of a Series
My generation lived in a fantasy world. We had all suffered through one day, The DAY, and had worked very hard to see that there would never be another day like it. September 11, 2001. We went on our merry way after the DAY, making war, finding peace, tearing down and rebuilding. All the while secure in the knowledge that there could never, would never be another DAY. There just couldn't be. It would be too unbearable.
March 4, 2009
The elections were over. We still had troops fighting the War on Terror. The economy was up, or down, or normal depending on who you listened to.
9:42 a.m., CST.
Our world ended with a bang, not a whimper.
From Indianapolis to Little Rock and beyond, the ground began to shake. Then roll, then open and close. The roar was unlike anything ever heard and it went on for what seemed hours but was two minutes and 17 seconds.
Earthquake Details
Magnitude
9.5
Date-Time
Location
36.320°N, 89.510°W
Depth
6.7 km (4.2 miles)
Region
TENNESSEE
Distances
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 0.2 km (0.1 miles); depth +/- 0.6 km (0.4 miles)
Parameters
Nst= 24, Nph= 30, Dmin=3.7 km, Rmss=0.05 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=B
Source
The shock wave raced out from the epicenter, reacting with each type of rock or soil it found. The Mississippi River leapt sideways, to the west north of the epicenter and to the east on the southern side of the shock. All along the river, every community built on the bluffs died. Entire towns built on the sediment laid down by the river over a million years shook, and swayed and sank as if they had been built on quicksand. Tens of thousands died during the shock itself and in the moments after.
The worst was yet to come.
Every bridge crossing the Mississippi, the Missouri and the Ohio within a four hundred mile radius went down. Every pipeline, fiber cable, electric line, everything solid that crossed the rivers whether buried or not snapped. The power grid for the entire United States west of the Rockies other than Texas failed. Buildings were damaged as far away as Boston and Charleston, South Carolina. The quake was felt in Montreal and Houston.
March 4, 2009
The elections were over. We still had troops fighting the War on Terror. The economy was up, or down, or normal depending on who you listened to.
9:42 a.m., CST.
Our world ended with a bang, not a whimper.
From Indianapolis to Little Rock and beyond, the ground began to shake. Then roll, then open and close. The roar was unlike anything ever heard and it went on for what seemed hours but was two minutes and 17 seconds.
Earthquake Details
Magnitude
9.5
Date-Time
- Wednesday, March 04, 2009 at 15:42:09 UTC
- Wednesday, March 04, 2009 at 09:42:09 AM at epicenter
Location
36.320°N, 89.510°W
Depth
6.7 km (4.2 miles)
Region
TENNESSEE
Distances
- 7 km (4 miles) NNW (338°) from Ridgely, TN
- 7 km (4 miles) SSW (205°) from Tiptonville, TN
- 16 km (10 miles) ESE (121°) from Hayward, MO
- 33 km (21 miles) NNW (340°) from Dyersburg, TN
- 140 km (87 miles) NNE (17°) from Memphis, TN
- 265 km (164 miles) SSE (166°) from St. Louis, MO
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 0.2 km (0.1 miles); depth +/- 0.6 km (0.4 miles)
Parameters
Nst= 24, Nph= 30, Dmin=3.7 km, Rmss=0.05 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=B
Source
- Cooperative New Madrid Seismic Network
The shock wave raced out from the epicenter, reacting with each type of rock or soil it found. The Mississippi River leapt sideways, to the west north of the epicenter and to the east on the southern side of the shock. All along the river, every community built on the bluffs died. Entire towns built on the sediment laid down by the river over a million years shook, and swayed and sank as if they had been built on quicksand. Tens of thousands died during the shock itself and in the moments after.
The worst was yet to come.
Every bridge crossing the Mississippi, the Missouri and the Ohio within a four hundred mile radius went down. Every pipeline, fiber cable, electric line, everything solid that crossed the rivers whether buried or not snapped. The power grid for the entire United States west of the Rockies other than Texas failed. Buildings were damaged as far away as Boston and Charleston, South Carolina. The quake was felt in Montreal and Houston.
Related Books
At the End of THE DAY
The sunset was greeted with another aftershock. This one was milder than most, barely causing the piles that used to be buildings to shift and rattle. The shelter was rigged from blankets and tarps, far too small for the dozens of injured that lay around it.
A couple of firefighters, a nurse and an EMT staffed this shelter. Staffed isn't the right word. They had found their way to this bit of open ground, and cobbled together the shelter as the injured began to arrive.
Everyone knew that there had been a quake. No one knew much else. Rumors abounded. California had fallen in to the ocean. The Chinese had nuked St. Louis. Terrorists, no, Mexicans, no, the wrath of a vengeful God.
Some supplies had been scrounged up, and the uninjured were put to work gathering more. It would be a cold night, and no one had yet seen any sign of police or rescue workers. One of the piles of rubble must have had a fur store in it since several volunteers had returned with armfuls of mink and ermine coats. The staff tried to ignore the pockets bulging with jewelry as they put the warm coats to good use.
A couple of old men, vets of the Vietnam War, they claimed, were setting up a latrine arrangement and some teen aged girls were using a table that they had found to put out a buffet of the food that was available.
The babies didn't cry at the aftershocks any more. There had been so many, some almost as bad as the original quake. The little ones were all cried out and the toddlers just sat with a hollow stare in someone's arms.
The sky was full of smoke and dust. All the fires locally had burned themselves out but several tall columns of smoke could be seen in the distance, out by the airport and the industrial park. A dog would bark in the distance, and others would howl a response.
They were getting hungry.
A couple of firefighters, a nurse and an EMT staffed this shelter. Staffed isn't the right word. They had found their way to this bit of open ground, and cobbled together the shelter as the injured began to arrive.
Everyone knew that there had been a quake. No one knew much else. Rumors abounded. California had fallen in to the ocean. The Chinese had nuked St. Louis. Terrorists, no, Mexicans, no, the wrath of a vengeful God.
Some supplies had been scrounged up, and the uninjured were put to work gathering more. It would be a cold night, and no one had yet seen any sign of police or rescue workers. One of the piles of rubble must have had a fur store in it since several volunteers had returned with armfuls of mink and ermine coats. The staff tried to ignore the pockets bulging with jewelry as they put the warm coats to good use.
A couple of old men, vets of the Vietnam War, they claimed, were setting up a latrine arrangement and some teen aged girls were using a table that they had found to put out a buffet of the food that was available.
The babies didn't cry at the aftershocks any more. There had been so many, some almost as bad as the original quake. The little ones were all cried out and the toddlers just sat with a hollow stare in someone's arms.
The sky was full of smoke and dust. All the fires locally had burned themselves out but several tall columns of smoke could be seen in the distance, out by the airport and the industrial park. A dog would bark in the distance, and others would howl a response.
They were getting hungry.
The Science of New Madrid
by Charles_Simmins
I am an accounting professional, and EMT. I tend to libertarian / conservative in my perspective on life, am a lapsed Catholic. I am married to a love... (more)
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