Seismic St. Louis
Emily SekineI'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.
pece_annotation_1473634230
josh.correiraThe report states that funding is passed down from the top while reports are passed up from the bottom leading to a lot of dysfunction in the chain of aid, especially for technical professionals an the bottom of the chain.
pece_annotation_1474821588
josh.correiraNo references are provided so it is unknown how the author obtained their information. They reference "EPA estimates" of how much pollutants were kicked up into the air after the collapse of the towers but no official reference is provided. Quotes are also provided from various government and EPA officials.
pece_annotation_1475598385
josh.correiraI could not find any opinions of this agency in regards to what is challenging in dealing with disaster or health.
pece_annotation_1473109702
josh.correiraThis is supported by analyzing the current emergency response system for nuclear disasters. Schmid notes that disaster prevention was the focus of the nuclear industry and disasters were rare up until recent and emergency response was hardly focused on. She also notes that as the nuclear sectors grows in size the frequency of disasters will likely increase and there has been a noticeable shift in focus towards emergency response.
pece_annotation_1473631952
josh.correiraThe authors are Paul E. Farmer, Bruce Nizeye, Sara Stulac, Salmaan Keshavjee. Paul. E. Farmer is a physician and anthropologist and co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH). He has been described as “the man who would cure the world.” PIH was involved in the disaster response after the earthquake in Haiti. Dr. Farmer has a number of publications including one titled “AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame.”
pece_annotation_1474433602
josh.correiraThe policy was drafted by Governor Cuomo as well as the NYS DOH
pece_annotation_1474822755
josh.correiraI'm not sure what this question is asking. The situation was clearly worsened by the EPA allowing people to move back into their homes following the collapses and no reference to damage control was made in this article.
pece_annotation_1473109810
josh.correiraThe article appears to produced from numerous studies and research articles with data, as mentioned above, from sources like the International Atomic Energy Agency.