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Seismic St. Louis

Emily Sekine
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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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Andreas_Rebmann
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-          Initially, it discusses a circular published in 1997, which addresses the problems faced by undocumented immigrants in France and the problems they face getting medical treatment, which eventually went on to turn in to law and improve the welfare of ill illegal residents. This was in the face of many years of increasing laws restricting undocumented resident’s rights in France.

-          Then, it speaks of a specific plight of a French resident from Senegalese, and his request for medical attention, the avenues he had explored to get treatment, how he couldn’t return to his homeland, and how he had, in many ways, given up in the system and was relying on his failing body to arouse compassion from the government.

-          Talks about how the restructuring of the French economy has changed employment needs in France; once, foreign immigrant labor powered the workforce, and made a living through their physical well-being. Now, with the decline of this type of job availability, a change was needed to how the French government deals with illness in foreign residents.

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Andreas_Rebmann
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The article has been cited 52 times according to Google Scholars. Such articles include articles on mobilities and health, long term recovery from disasters (one particularly on katrina), and the socioeconomic recovery of disasters and how it affects survivor populations.