Emerson Radio Address: No Calm Before an Earthquake

EMERSON RADIO ADDRESS: No Calm Before an Earthquake

"There should be no calm before an earthquake - the agencies charged with preparing for, detecting, and responding to a major seismic event must be in constant motion.

Here in Southern Missouri, where we know a major earthquake is an eventual, statistical certainty, those preparations should be urgent. We do not know the day or the hour, but we do know that the New Madrid Seismic Zone will soon be due for a repeat performance of 7.0+ earthquakes that rocked the region in 1811 and 1812.

Unlike coastal earthquakes, this fault line in the center of the continent has no ocean to absorb the energy of a major quake; there is only rock to diffuse the strength of an earthquake in the Heartland. The radius of damage is unknown, but could be dramatically widespread. The New Madrid Earthquake of 1812 rang church bells in Boston! Today, there is more than church bells between Southern Missouri and Boston. There are vital pipelines, transportation infrastructure corridors over land and water, and millions of Americans who could be cut off from emergency services by a catastrophe of nature. An earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone is a major
concern not just for Southern Missouri, but for most of the continental United States.

I have long advocated in Congress for emergency preparedness exercises to solidify our response to this nightmare-in-waiting. On our side, we know the risks, and many of the weaknesses, of a severe quake and the aftershocks which would follow. We must have interoperable communications so our first responders can get information from those in peril. We need an inventory of buildings which could be structurally compromised by a major earthquake. We would rely on a list of hospitals, schools and retirement care facilities to ensure that the mistakes of Hurricane Katrina are not repeated in Southern Missouri. We can address these needs, and we are.

The weaknesses we don't know, on the other hand, we must discover.

This month, an essential exercise will take place to help us meet that goal on June 19, 20 and 21. The U.S. Coast Guard will lead a disaster response simulation in the New Madrid Seismic Zone revolving around the pipelines that connect most of the Eastern Seaboard to its supplies of oil and natural gas. The event, called a Spills of National Significance drill, will pull in participants and observers from federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The first day of the exercise will be devoted to response and the next two days will address recovery.

More important to me is the fact that the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency will be a full participant in a parallel exercise to frame a response to a catastrophic earthquake.

The state-run exercise is in advance of a series of efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to investigate the response and recovery that would be urgently needed after a major earthquake. I, for one, am glad local and state authorities are not waiting for a cue from the federal government to take on the challenge of preparation.

There is another level on which preparations must be made, and that is the household level. Take the time to ask yourselves and your families what would you do in the event of a major quake? Just like putting a plan in place for a house fire, we all need to have a plan for an earthquake which everyone understands.

When there is no question that, eventually, an earthquake is coming, there is also no time to waste in being prepared. I'll continue to keep a close eye on this issue in Congress as well as back home in Missouri.

For more information on how you can prepare your family for an earthquake, please visit www.fema.gov/hazard.earthquake."

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