A Matter of Timing

The New Madrid fault line is one of the deepest, most deadly earthquake zones anywhere in the world. It runs from Memphis to St. Louis, along the Mississippi River. The last time it woke from slumber in 1811 and 1812, it rattled the Earth over 1,000 times throughout a 2-year period, and based upon testimonials from the few people then living in the area, at least 8 of the quakes were 8 or better on today’s Richter scale.

Geologists had been predicting the New Madrid would shake again, mos...