The Earthquake America Forgot: 2000 Temblors in Five Months . . . and It Will Happen Again

At 2:30 am on December 16, 1811, a massive earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter Scale occurred about 40 miles south of the town of New Madrid, Missouri. Around 8:00 am and 11:00 am that same day, two more great quakes occurred moving closer and closer to New Madrid, both estimated to be 8.0 in magnitude. One was near present-day Steele, Missouri, and the other near present-day Caruthersville, Missouri. Hundreds of miles away chimneys were broken off in Louisville, Kentucky, wine vats were thrown over in Virginia, wild church bells rang in Boston. Trappers in Wyoming reported feeling the earth shake while people in Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and cities throughout the East Coast also reported feeling the event. The Mississippi River ran backwards, twelve new lakes were formed, five whole towns disappeared, whole tribes were drowned, while people were swallowed up into gigantic openings in the earth. It was the largest outburst of seismic energy in American history. This book narrates like a novel with adventure, romance, villians, heroes, mystery, intrigue, murder, religion, and politics. Expressing the drama among people, the book also describes the drama of nature, how the landscape was reshaped forever and how the animals responded. The events frightened thousands of Native Americans living in the area to flee forever to the west of Missouri and beyond. The effects on slaves and slavery are also presented. The book also presents the probabilities for future New Madrid earthquakes and offers sound advice on how to prepare and survive such a cataclysm.