1. Earthquakes in Missouri
Mid-America Contingency Planning Forum
Fall Symposium
September 17, 2015
Ballwin, MO

2. Missouri’s Earthquake Program
Outreach and Education (Preparedness)
Earthquake Awareness Month during February
Great Central U.S. ShakeOut during October
Catastrophic Planning Efforts
MO Seismic Safety Commission
Structural Assessment & Visual Evaluation (SAVE) Coalition
Support for Earthquake Exercises
A big part of SEMA’s Earthquake Program is Outreach and Education, which includes Earthquake Awareness Month each February. The State first began planning for a catastrophic New Madrid Seismic Zone earthquake in 2005, following the devastation caused on the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina. The New Madrid Bicentennial observance is underway to recognize the 200th anniversary of the great New Madrid earthquakes of

3. Earthquakes Happen Almost Every Day Here

4. 50+ Years Of Events DATE Mw LOCATION ZONE NOV 7, 1958 4.0 Southern IL
WVSZ
MAR 3, 1963
4.4
Near Poplar Bluff, MO
NMSZ
OCT 20,1965
4.5
Centerville, MO
C US Random
NOV 9, 1968
5.1
MAR 25,1976
Marked Tree, AR
JUN 10, 1987
4.8
Southeastern IL
JUN 18, 2002
4.6
Evansville, IN
APR 18, 2008
5.2
Mount Carmel, IL
Source: Dr. Greg Hempen, MO Seismic Safety Commission

5. St. Louis Area Earthquakes
Since 1811 at least a dozen earthquakes have caused minor damage in St. Louis.
(Public domain information: Saint Louis University Earthquake Center,
St. Louis, Mo., 1999,

6. Mt. Carmel, IL. April 2008
Felt in more than 20 states and across Missouri
Photos: St. Louis University Earthquake Center

7. Earthquake ground motions stay Stronger over greater distances in the Eastern US
M5.4 Alum Rock, CA Oct 30, 2007
M5.2 Mt. Carmel, IL, April 18, 2008
400 km
400 km
200 km
200 km
Figure courtesy of Dave Wald, USGS

8. Future Danger in the Central U.S.?

9. Planning for Earthquakes

10. The Response Challenges
New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Planning:
The Response Challenges
Approximately 7 million
people at high risk
No notice event that is not commonly recognized
Large area of impact ,575 Sq. Miles
Multiple jurisdictions with multiple governors
Significant infrastructure impacts
Response challenges multiple earthquakes/ aftershocks
Poor situational awareness
Security demands
Mass care/shelter needs
Major housing, evacuation, & relocation needs
Urban & Isolated areas
St. Louis
348 K
2 mil metro
5 Million
Rural Pop.
160 – 200 Cities IL IN MO KY
This no-notice event does not have public visibility or recognition, due to the large time gap between the historical events ( and 1886).
However, it will have significant impact on the critical infrastructure, which will in turn impact the ability to conduct response rescue and life support operations.
Responders will be faced the problem of conducting operations during large potential aftershocks in the area. NMSZ has a history of multiple large scale earthquakes as experienced during
The impact of this event on emergency response and the nation will eclipse Katrina. Due to the impact on the critical infrastructure, we expect to lose communications, which will impact situational awareness.
We anticipate a significant requirement for security. There is likely to be a large requirement for law enforcement support within the potentially impacted urban areas of St. Louis ( M population) and Memphis (1 – 1.5M population).
In between these two metropolitan areas, there is a significant local rural population (8 – 9M population) dispersed. There are approximately 160 to 200 small cities within the rural area. The rural areas will be a significant challenge for response due to the thin (not concentrated) population, lack of infrastructure (difficult decisions to make) due to prioritization of resources. Some of these areas are anticipated to be isolated for a period of time.
The scenario is further complicated as we address the MONUMENTAL housing challenge to support evacuation, shelter and hosting. The total NMSZ impacted area potentially is 126,575 miles, about ten times the size of the impacted earthquake area in California (12,000 sq. miles) For the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. TN AR MS AL
Memphis
655K
1.3 mil metro

11. Planning: New Madrid Seismic Zone Concerns
Earthquakes are no-notice events
Midwest geology allows quakes to be felt over a much wider area than those in places like California
Softer soils commonly located in river valleys amplify the earthquake effects
Those same soils can also liquefy for a short time
Many older buildings are made of unreinforced masonry and are vulnerable to shaking
The public generally does not prepare for “low probability, high-consequence events”
The effects of such an earthquake or earthquakes could be far beyond other disasters we have faced in Missouri
Missouri will not be the only state affected by these quakes and so will not be able to assist neighboring states, while competing with them for outside resources
The next big earthquake in Missouri will be different than a similar one in Alaska, California or Hawaii for several reasons

12. State Response Plan

14. Missouri S.A.V.E. Coalition
12/10/2012
Missouri
SAVE Coalition
Engineers
Architects
Building Inspectors
Other Qualified Individuals Certified Under SAVE
All Volunteer Professionals

15. What SAVE Does
Mostly Rapid Visual Inspections per Applied Technology Council-20 and ATC-45
Exterior Only, Structural Life Safety
Post Inspection Placards:
Joplin EF-5 Deployment Data used by FEMA, Missouri National Guard, NIST, and ASCE Researchers

16. Missouri S.A.V.E. Coalition
12/10/2012
How SAVE
Activates
EVENT OCCURS
Governor
Declares Emergency
Local Government Requests Building Inspection Help from SEMA
S.A.V.E. Teams Begin Deployment

17. Joplin EF-5 Event Time Line
May 22nd 5:41 pm Tornado Strikes
May 22nd 5:42 pm Search and Rescue Efforts Begin
May 23rd 8:10 am S.A.V.E. Regional Coordinators
Begin Phone Tree Call Down
May 24th 10:39 pm City of Joplin Requests Building
Inspection Help from SEMA
May 25th 10:19 am S.A.V.E. SW Regional Coordinator Deploys to Joplin
May S.A.V.E. Inspection Team Deployment

18. SAVE Members in Joplin - 2011
Photo Credit: Jeff Hower – S.A.V.E.

19. Example Unsafe Building
Photo Credit: Ben Ross – S.A.V.E.

20. Results More than 7,700 Structures Inspected 36% Unsafe
6% Restricted Use
58% Did Not Present Life Safety Problems

21. Branson EF-2 Deployment March 3, 2012.

22. Exercising Our Plans
October 15, 2015 – Great Central U.S. ShakeOut earthquake drill
October 16-17, 2015 – SAVE Coalition exercise at Jefferson Barracks
August 2016 – National-Level Mass Care earthquake exercise in Missouri

24. St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazard Mapping Project
Expanded area of the House Spring and Maxville 1:24000 quadrangle map
Shows areas of
Liquefaction
Collapse
Landslide potential

25. Thank You! Steve Besemer, SNS/Medical Countermeasures Planner
Office: (573)
Jeff Briggs, Earthquake Program Manager
Office: (573)
Missouri State Emergency Management Agency
P. O. Box 116, 2302 Militia Drive
Jefferson City, MO