Preparing for a quake

Gov. Jay Nixon leads an earthquake readiness summit at New Madrid Friday afternoon with area leaders in public safety, emergency response, law enforcement, emergency medical care, faith groups and the National Guard. Pictured with the Governor are Stephen Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard and Andrea Spillars, Department of Public Safety.
(Jill Bock, Staff)

While the possibility of a major quake which jarred much of the eastern United States 199 years ago is unlikely. Gillman said the area is way overdue for a moderate quake ranging from 6.0 to 6.5 on the Richter Scale, which could devastate roadways, waterlines and unreinforced buildings.

With that in mind Gov. Jay Nixon met with leaders in public safety, emergency response, law enforcement, emergency medical care, faith groups and the Missouri National Guard in an effort to strengthen state and local preparations for an earthquake along the New Madrid fault.

"We must ensure that we have the best coordinated response plan in place and are ready to implement it immediately," said Nixon. "History has shown that advanced planning, coordination and communication between all levels of government, emergency responders and faith and community leaders is essential in any disaster response."

For the complete article and more stories from the Standard Democrat, click here to log on to the electronic edition.