ST. LOUIS – On Feb. 7, 1812, there was perhaps the most notable of three large earthquakes that shook the New Madrid seismic zone that winter. The shaking was felt locally in St. Louis and forever changed the landscape of the region.

Dr. Robert Herrmann, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics at Saint Louis University, talked about the possible impacts to the river from the quake.

“So when the big shaking occurred, you know, the soil can settle, and certainly the course of the river could change. Now, what we do know is that there was a village called New Matter at the time, and after the earthquake, the village was no longer there because of the movement of the river,” he said.

Science has seen a pattern where earthquakes occur and how often they reoccur and that most occur on plate boundaries, but the New Madrid earthquakes were different.

“The New Madrid earthquakes occurred in the middle of the plate, and we don’t really understand why those earthquakes occurred there, which means we don’t really understand why they might, when they might, occur in the future,” Herrmann added.

While the future is unknown, geological studies in Missouri’s Boot Heel have shown evidence of earthquakes prior to these.

“We know there were some big earthquakes in that region, perhaps in the 1400s, and several hundred years before that. So there’ve been, it’s documented, there have been at least three time periods in which there have been big earthquakes. So, it would be prudent to worry about big earthquakes in the future,” he said.

If you acknowledge the possibility, then you can prepare for it, which is why there is earthquake emergency response training at the state level. Extra strengthening in engineering and construction of critical infrastructure has also been incorporated.

If a larger earthquake were to again happen in the New Madrid seismic zone, St. Louis could be impacted.

“Well, the effects of the earthquake depend upon two things. One, how big is the earthquake, and how close you are to it. So we in St. Louis have the advantage that we’re about 150 miles away, which is good, even if it is a big earthquake. There would be a lot of shaking, some minor damage,” Herrmann said.

Another aspect to consider is how St. Louis would be a place to gather the resources to help the affected area with their response and recovery.

“If people are injured, well, they may be brought up here to the hospitals here; if the places down there need food and other things, well, that would be shipped from St. Louis,” he said.