Disaster Deferred: A New View of Earthquake Hazards in the New Madrid Seismic Zone

by Seth Stein

Overview

In the winter of 1811-12, a series of large earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone-often incorrectly described as the biggest ever to hit the United States-shook the Midwest. Today the federal government ranks the hazard in the Midwest as high as California's and is pressuring communities to undertake expensive preparations for disaster.

Coinciding with the two-hundredth anniversary of the New Madrid earthquakes, Disaster Deferred revisits these earthquakes, the legends that have grown around them, and the predictions of doom that have followed in their wake. Seth Stein clearly explains the techniques seismologists use to study Midwestern quakes and estimate their danger. Detailing how limited scientific knowledge, bureaucratic instincts, and the media's love of a good story have exaggerated these hazards, Stein calmly debunks the hype surrounding such predictions and encourages the formulation of more sensible, less costly policy. Powered by insider knowledge and an engaging style, Disaster Deferred shows how new geological ideas and data, including those from the Global Positioning System, are painting a very different-and much less frightening-picture of the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231151399
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	07/10/2012
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Seth Stein is Deering Professor of Geological Sciences at Northwestern University. He has received the James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union, the George P. Woollard Award of the Geological Society of America, and the Stephan Mueller Medal of the European Geosciences Union. He has also been elected a foreign member of the Academy of Europe and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America. He is a coauthor of a widely used seismology textbook, a former editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research, and the founder of Northwestern's Environmental Science program.

Table of Contents

1. Threshold
2. The Day the Earth Stood Still
3. Think or Panic?
4. The Perfect Mess
5. Earthquake!
6. Breakthrough
7. How the Ground Shakes
8. How Earthquakes Work
9. Plate Tectonics Explains (Most) Earthquakes
10. Earthquakes That Shouldn't Happen
11. What's Going on Down There?
12. Guidance from Heaven
13. Faults Turning On and Off
14. More Dangerous than California?
15. Chemotherapy for a Cold
16. What to Do?
Further Reading and Sources
References
Acknowledgments
Index

What People are Saying About This

Orrin Pilkey

Seth Stein thoughtfully recognizes the painful decisions that various politicians and emergency managers must make, and he provides realistic descriptions of various types of bureaucracies and scientific specialties, without rancor. A must-read for all involved in such issues.

— Orrin Pilkey, Duke University, author of Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future

Jonathan Weiner

'Sacred cows make the best hamburger,' as the saying goes. In Disaster Deferred, Seth Stein takes on one of the sacred cows of geology-the story of the Midwest's New Madrid fault-and argues that estimates of earthquake risk along the fault have been greatly exaggerated. Along the way, Stein gives readers a taste of what it is like to do science. He tells his tale with care, passion, and the kind of humor that seems just right for a geologist—crusty and bluff.

— Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time

Stephen Marshak

Seth Stein's book is fun to read and has a compelling story to tell. There is no book quite like it out there.

— Stephen Marshak, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Editorial Reviews

A great book about real science and policy issues that is a lot of fun to read. Seth Stein has done a great job of telling the story of the New Madrid Seismic Zone and its near-mythic status within the science community, without rancor and without being overly critical of the parties to this fascinating story. Well done all around.

Timothy H. Dixon

Engaging, feisty in places, humorous and philosophical, highly educational, and loaded with common sense—an exceptional read.... An essential book for policy makers, economists, and notably educators.

Choice

A lot of books are written about disasters and potential disasters. Seth Stein's new book Disaster Deferred, is a different kind of book, which uses new scientific results to demonstrate that the dangers of a large earthquake in the Midwest are greatly overestimated. Seth writes in a highly entertaining style, and I frequently found myself laughing out loud. However, the facts are deadly serious and based on the latest results in earthquake science. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in earthquakes and their potential impact on society in North America.

— Douglas Wiens

Washington University in St. Louis

A lot of books are written about disasters and potential disasters. Seth Stein's new book Disaster Deferred, is a different kind of book, which uses new scientific results to demonstrate that the dangers of a large earthquake in the Midwest are greatly overestimated. Seth writes in a highly entertaining style, and I frequently found myself laughing out loud. However, the facts are deadly serious and based on the latest results in earthquake science. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in earthquakes and their potential impact on society in North America.

Washington University in St. Louis - Douglas Wiens

Seth Stein thoughtfully recognizes the painful decisions that various politicians and emergency managers must make, and he provides realistic descriptions of various types of bureaucracies and scientific specialties, without rancor. A must-read for all involved in such issues.

Orrin Pilkey

Stein has done a masterful job of explaining the historical events of New Madrid in 1811 and 1812 and the science behind the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) as it is analyzed today. He effectively challenges the claims and mystique about the NMSZ. This is a much needed, honest, and frank book about earthquakes and seismic policy. It tells the inside story about science, the people in this science, the history of seismology, science in government, and public policy and does so with humor, personal anecdotes, and good examples. An excellent reference book and very readable. As a geologist from a state that borders the NMSZ, I would recommend this book to anyone in government or public policy who deals with these issues.

James C. Cobb

Seth Stein's book is fun to read and has a compelling story to tell. There is no book quite like it out there.

Stephen Marshak

'Sacred cows make the best hamburger,' as the saying goes. In Disaster Deferred, Seth Stein takes on one of the sacred cows of geology-the story of the Midwest's New Madrid fault-and argues that estimates of earthquake risk along the fault have been greatly exaggerated. Along the way, Stein gives readers a taste of what it is like to do science. He tells his tale with care, passion, and the kind of humor that seems just right for a geologist—crusty and bluff.

Jonathan Weiner