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Seismic St. Louis

Emily Sekine

I'm interested in better understanding the ongoing geological processes that shape St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley region. So far, I've been looking into the history of seismicity in the region, focusing on the fascinating but little known history of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 -- the most devastating earthquakes to have hit the US east of the Rockies. I've also been exploring how St. Louis and surrounding areas are dealing with the possibility of another earthquake occurring in the future. According to one article I read, one of the biggest uncertainties is what would happen to the heavily engineered Mississippi River in the case of another major tremblor. The shaking could break the levees, flooding wide areas along the river and creating cascading effects. The flow of the river might also reverse completely, as occurred during the New Madrid earthquakes.

On these possibilities and the lack of scientific consensus surrounding intraplate seismicity in this zone, see this article in The Atlantic.

On current efforts to create earthquake hazard maps in St. Louis, see this overview on the US Geological Survey site.

For a deeper dive into the history of the New Madrid earthquakes, see this book by historian of science Conevery Bolton Valencius. 

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Alexi Martin

The article's worked cited is extensive, this indicates that the article is highly researched and supported and that the article is valid. The research rticle took time to produce and is an important cornerstone of researching about human rights speficially gender and humantarism

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Alexi Martin


The data used to produce the claims in the report were investigations of past American disasters and how these shortcomings eventually lead to a failure for those investigating 9/11. Direct quotes and explanation of each of the historical events were also used to support the claims made.

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Alexi Martin

The author is Didier Fassin, he is an anthropologist and socialogist who conducted research in Senegal, Ecuador, South AFrica and France. He used to be a doctor, but now is a professor at Princeton. He is suited in respect to emergency response because studying the people is how to help those affected by disaster.