Earthquake, Everyone ok? Wonder how HW is?

^^ thanks moosh - it really must have gone past me then - I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the news. I'm not a big television watcher, I get most of the news from the net I have to admit.

It's good that we can complement our individual points of view here.

I'm 35 miles south of HW. I slept through the quake, and didn't feel the aftershock...

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raser said:
Paula, if Will thought the quake was cool, maybe he could incorporate a shaking lift hill on the next coaster.

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Heck, we've already got three shaking stations...

Thanks again to everyone who checked in with us. :)

Paula

^Wait, you mean your whole park didn't collapse to the ground and then get sucked into a hole in the earth?

That is how the media would like to portray it. :)

I don't think HolidayWorld wins in the shaking station award. The station I have noticed to shake the most belongs to Mt. Olympus and Hades. As the train falls into the station the whole station moves what seems like 4-5 feet back and forth...

The New Madrid Seismic Area (on the Tennessee/Missouri border) is a really bad one and quite wide. I read an article about it a few years ago in The Baltimore Sun as I was completely unfamiliar with it (more can be read over at Wikipedia or links from the site).

While there was major destruction and reshaping of rivers, the population base wasn't anywhere near what it is today, and you're talking about the four worst earthquakes to ever hit the U.S.

The big problem is that earthquake-proofing is virtually nonexistent in the area and Memphis would probably get hit worst. So what happens if another one does happen on that level (7.0 or above)? Does any park in the main five states have any kind of disaster plan?

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Intamin Fan said: Does any park in the main five states have any kind of disaster plan?

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Good heavens, I would hope we all do.

We certainly do...

Paula

I wonder how many people realize there is a fault line in the middle of Lake Erie as well?

Anyone in the area remember the quake in January 1986?

I saw a program over the winter that stated this area is due for a very large quake similar to one in the early 1900's. The quake was so strong that it made the Mississippi flow backwards. It was predicted buildings would collapse in St. Louis and Louisville. Damage as far as Chicago would be quite visible. It was even suggested that the Mississippi river could be redirected...

I remember the '86 quake. I was in whatever my social studies class was with Mr. Frew at Whitney Young Junior High. The big scandal was that there was a big crack in one of the ancient walls of the school.

I think what happened the other day was a good thing, as I'm sure there are lots of people who had no clue that they live in a worse area damage-wise for earthquakes than California. I mean if an earthquake can ring church bells in Boston as it did in the 1811-12 quakes, that's pretty darn serious.

I'm not trying to be political, but it's fairly obvious that the government did a poor job handling Katrina and continues to now with the trailer situation.

One statistic had a major quake happening in that area around the 300-500 year range (and we're around 200 years later), while another said 2040 for the big one. I just don't think the government or the residents are prepared should something happen.