A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On…I Guess

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Matt Todd

Growing up in a city near the New Madrid fault, there was always the threat of earthquakes, but I don’t really remember anyone taking it too seriously. Until one day some kook got in front of a TV camera and proclaimed that the New Madrid fault was going to have a catastrophic earthquake on December 2nd or 3rd, 1990. People went nuts. There was discussion about having emergency kits similar to the ones that were supposed to be necessary for the doom that was supposed to swoop upon us in the whole Y2K fiasco. Some people got whipped into a frenzy over the prospect of this earthquake predictor getting one right. The superintendent of our school system said it was optional for students to come to school those days. While I didn’t really put any stock in this guy’s prediction, I did take advantage of not having to go to school. I slept in and hung around at home.

Although the hype surrounding that specific window was unfounded, the threat of a major earthquake remained, and I guess it was good that it did manage to shine the spotlight on the need to be ready for whenever the big one comes. People did create emergency kits. I remember even having an earthquake drill in school for the first time. Awareness was raised, and that was a good thing. Because the New Madrid fault is nothing to laugh at. It’s big. I think I heard today that it’s the longest fault in the world (don’t quote me on that). Back in 1811-12, it set off a series of quakes that changed the course of the Ohio River and forced the Mississippi to flow backwards for a time. A major quake anywhere near Evansville could flatten the city.

So when I woke up this morning and Christy told me there was an earthquake near Evansville, I thought, “Please, don’t let it be the ‘big one.'” I ran to the computer without really looking a the TV and saw that it was just a mild to moderate quake, although it did manage to wake up quite a few people and set some peoples’ nerves on end.

The earthquake as it happened on one of Evansville’s morning news shows:

I love how the weather guy just kept on going. He’s like the Energizer Bunny, or something like that.

Many people in the area felt the tremor. They say it was felt as far north as Milwaukee, which is pretty far away. Unfortunately, our family slept through it. I remember thinking something was strange in the middle of the night, but our house isn’t far from a pretty active railroad track and some strange sounds come from the tracks at night, so I really didn’t think anything of it. If that was the quake, it definitely didn’t ‘move’ me as it did many other people in the Midwest. Bummer, huh?

I know earthquakes happen all the time out west. But this was the largest magnitude (5.2) to be felt in the state in 40 years. So although I got sick of hearing about the quake about 15 minutes after hearing everyone was OK, I can understand why many people are still talking about it.

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"