Earthquakes

Something very curious just happened. New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes have suddenly gone wildly viral on TikTok and they've taken me with them and that's not the strangest thing about this.

If you blinked, you missed it. It was brief, but there was an earthquake to make sure everyone in southeast Missouri was awake thanks to the ever-present New Madrid Fault.

If you happened to be in the St. Louis, Missouri area earlier this week, you might have seen National Guard troops on the streets and wondered what was going on. No reason for alarm as there's a very good reason why those troops had smashed vehicles and emergency tents set up. They were practicing for a massive New Madrid earthquake. Wait. What?

If you live in or near Missouri, you live in one of the most seismically-active places in America. Want proof? The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that there have already been 177 New Madrid quakes in 2024 so far and that's a conservative count.

I've followed earthquakes for decades and cannot remember hardly any earthquakes striking this part of Illinois. It was a jolt that was strong enough to be felt by hundreds and has been confirmed by the USGS.

If you aren't an earthquake nerd like I am, you likely didn't even notice what's been happening along the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Missouri over the past few days. There's a sudden swarm of 8 measurable quakes that have been confirmed by the USGS.

A new simulation shows what would happen to Missouri if a 7.7 magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone happened.

This is outstanding. I've waited for years for the moment when New Madrid, Missouri would become the movie star I knew it was capable of being and that moment has arrived. There's a new disaster movie starring this earthquake-prone Missouri town and you can watch it for the cost of nothing.

Every time I think I understand technology, something like this happens. During some recent research involving artificial intelligence, a strange conversation took place where the bots issued sudden warnings about Illinois places I should avoid at all costs.

I can see the memes now. We shall rebuild. That's the likely response of the internet today with news that one of the larger quakes in 2024 along the New Madrid Seismic Zone just quietly shook a Missouri field today.