Fresh earthquake warning for Southeast Missouri

Earthquake Awareness Month begins Tuesday with the Missouri Department of Commerce and Industry (DCI) cautioning anew residents who live in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

"Residents in the NMSZ remain largely unprepared for a major earthquake," a DCI release late last week stated.

The Zone — the most active seismic area in the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains — covers portions of five states: Southeast Missouri, Northeast Arkansas, West Tennessee, West Kentucky and Southern Illinois.

The department said it is launching an educational campaign to help consumers plan for their financial recovery if a quake strikes.

A series of quakes in Southeast Missouri in 1811 and 1812 destroyed buildings and briefly caused the Mississippi River to run backward.

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake Nov. 17 near Poplar Bluff was the state's most significant temblor in 30 years, with an estimated 200 quakes occurring in the Zone each year -- although nearly all are too small to be felt. Earthquake insurance coverage in the highest risk areas of NMSZ have hit historic lows, according to DCI, with only 12.7% of residents covered by quake-specific insurance. Since 2000, the cost of earthquake coverage, DCI reported, has gone up as much as 760%, with the high price tag considered the main reason so few homes are protected. Additionally, DCI said many homeowners and renters are unaware their homeowner/renters insurance will not cover earthquake losses.

If a similar earthquake to the 1811-1812 New Madrid temblors -- which registered as high as 7.5 on the Richter scale -- would occur today, estimated losses could top $120 billion. Such losses, DCI said, would only be rivaled by a repeat of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, with estimated losses of $93 billion.

Do you want more business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.