Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: USGS, full text: (LINK).]
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USGS Welcomes Earthquake Prediction Council's Confirmation That Scientific Basis for New Madrid Hazard is Sound
25 April 2011 | OC_Web@usgs.gov (Office of Communications Web Group)
The level of seismic hazards posed by the New Madrid Seismic Zone, along with the uncertainties that still remain, is the subject of a new report by the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC).
The report was recently presented to USGS Director Marcia McNutt and it comes during the Bicentennial of the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes that struck the central United States.
?I commend NEPEC for assembling an independent expert panel to weigh scientific evidence regarding the threat posed by large earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone,? said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. ?This is an important issue that has spurred decades of excellent research on the large, yet enigmatic, earthquakes of 1811 and 1812; the geologic evidence of similar earthquakes in previous centuries; and how our modern cities and towns would be shaken if similar earthquakes were to occur today.?
The report concluded that:
NEPEC was congressionally established in legislation authorizing the four-agency National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The Council provides advice and recommendations to the USGS Director on earthquake predictions and related scientific research.
The report is posted on the Council?s website. More information on earthquake hazards can be found on the USGS website.
- 25 April 2011 | OC_Web@usgs.gov (Office of Communications Web Group)
The level of seismic hazards posed by the New Madrid Seismic Zone, along with the uncertainties that still remain, is the subject of a new report by the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council (NEPEC).
The report was recently presented to USGS Director Marcia McNutt and it comes during the Bicentennial of the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes that struck the central United States.
?I commend NEPEC for assembling an independent expert panel to weigh scientific evidence regarding the threat posed by large earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone,? said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. ?This is an important issue that has spurred decades of excellent research on the large, yet enigmatic, earthquakes of 1811 and 1812; the geologic evidence of similar earthquakes in previous centuries; and how our modern cities and towns would be shaken if similar earthquakes were to occur today.?
The report concluded that:
- The New Madrid Seismic Zone represents a significant hazard for large earthquakes that would cause widespread damage.
- The scientific community does not share the view of some individuals that the region has ?shut down? in its production of large earthquakes.
- The region?s seismic hazard must be accounted for in urban planning and development.
- The USGS national seismic hazard maps remain a good current estimate of overall hazard and should continue to be used until new maps replace them.
- Significant uncertainties include:
- The actual level of effects of a major earthquake
- What magnitude earthquakes are likely
- How often will future earthquakes occur in the New Madrid Seismic Zone
NEPEC was congressionally established in legislation authorizing the four-agency National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The Council provides advice and recommendations to the USGS Director on earthquake predictions and related scientific research.
The report is posted on the Council?s website. More information on earthquake hazards can be found on the USGS website.
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