Earthquake expectations continue to keep midwest busy

As the questionable countdown for a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault in early December continued, the daughter of the man who projected the quake says he stands behind his forecast for the Midwest, but is growing moreconcerned about Japan. "That doesn't mean we stop being concerned about New Madrid or less concerned about New Madrid," said Evelyn Browning Garriss in a telephone interview
from her home in suburban Tijeras, New Mexico.


"He's probably more concerned about Japan than any other place ... including New Madrid. But he continues to see a 50-50 possibility for New Madrid, and he hasn't made any changes, except to be a little less worried about the Hayward (California) Fault. "Earthquake experts and other scientists have repeatedly said that Browning's projection — which relies on the measurement of the pull of tidal forces on the earth — was no more scientific than a random guess. In fact, on Tuesday, a scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey strongly discounted the projection in a briefing of Congressional staff
members in Washington.

"I can summarize our findings by saying there is no reason ... that a large earthquake is more likely to occur ... Dec. 2 or 3 than it is today, three weeks from today or any day in the future," said Randall Updike, associate chief of the survey's Office of Earthquake, Volcanoes and Engineering. Scientists agree that there is a long-term threat of a major earthquake in the Midwest, but there is no scientific way to pinpoint a date for when it will occur.

Some residents of the seven states near or along the fault zone — Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois — don't put much stock in the projection either, but many aren't taking any chances.

Earthquake insurance sales have skyrocketed and state regulators from the region have formed a special commHtee to monitor the availability of policies amid reports that some companies have able to get an earthquake policy, but they may have to do some stopped selling earthquake insur- shopping that they didn't plan on "It appears that consumers are on," said Lewis Melahn, director of the Missouri Division of Insurance .
Coninued....

Source Article: The Associated Press