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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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joerene.aviles

The program goal is to "help prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from a growing array of natural and human-caused risks and threats in New York State and around the world" (in mission statement) by providing education, research and training opportunities in homeland/cybersecurity to its students.

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Alexi Martin

This group claims to have a new way of addressing emergency situations through using their process of stopping events that are already in progress through investigating the abuses, documenting evidence and stories and using their evidence as a call for action.

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joerene.aviles

The article looks at how a French law, the "compassion protocol" that gives legalizes undocumented immigrants with serious illness, was interpreted and executed by within the country. It discusses how the law is a humanitarian action and public health concern, and the difficult moral position medical professionals are put in when becoming an examiner for this department in the government.

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Alexi Martin

The implications this report has for technical professions is the report is an example of what should not occur, more proper prep should have occured. The government distrubted food should have been protected and been on site for the incoming storms. Hospital's should have been evacuated days earlier, the report serves as a warning of what not to do if a storm this stron occurs again. Technical professionals should use this report as advice on what to do in the future. The impact of the healthcare professionals was good, they used their knowledge to the best of their ability-they determined the resources needed to increase.

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Alexi Martin

The main findings presented in the article are the stages of mental  illnesses after a disaster post, pre and per factors as well as the most common health (mental illness disorders) after a disaster has occurred-such as generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. The article also discusses that despite events happening only a small percentage of the population experiences these illnesses and a small portion still get treatment. The lack of treatment options is also discussed- it is not readily available after a disaster.