If we were asked to specify some natural disasters that might occur in the Tallahatchie County area, a few obvious answers would come to mind.
Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms with straight-line winds likely would top the list of the most often mentioned.
Tallahatchie County has seen its share of loss from these weather events, which also include battering hailstorms and destructive fires caused by lightning strikes.
Some people might say heavy, flooding rains that have impacted many residents, especially in the Delta region of the county. Flash floods have been devastating to property, causing millions of dollars in damage to structures, roads and crops.
Drought and heat waves have caused a lot of damage around here, too. Farmers, especially those who plied their trade in the era preceding pivot and drip irrigation, can recall catastrophic times.
Ask some of our dedicated volunteer firefighters, and they might mention wildfires as another culprit.
Lastly, anyone in these parts old enough to remember the Great Ice Storm of February 1994 can speak to the widespread challenges that such a natural disaster brings.
Most likely, those would top the minds of not only Tallahatchians, but other residents of North Mississippi.
Few, if any, would utter the word earthquake.
That natural disaster would be about as likely to cross the lips of local folk as tsunami, avalanche or blizzard.
That said, if any of us had been asked a few years ago about the possibility of seeing a worldwide pandemic in our lifetime, well ...
One reason earthquakes are not at the forefront of our consciousness is because, thankfully, we have not seen any devastating ones in our area.
We hear of them in far-flung places, such as the terrible magnitude 7.8 earthquake that shook areas of Turkey and Syria recently with devastating effect, killing more than 35,000 people in the two countries.
Some North Mississippi residents have felt mild movement of the ground, but none of us has experienced a great quake.
Hopefully, we never will, although the danger does exist.
That is why the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency each February joins in the observance of National Earthquake Awareness Month and has adopted a hazard mitigation plan “aimed at decreasing casualties and structural damage in the event of a major earthquake.”
Ask Mr. Thad Roberts, Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency director, and he would tell you that his office and those of 17 other county EMA directors in North Mississippi have been trained on how to prepare for and deal with such a natural disaster.
In turn, those offices have held tabletop sessions and mock disaster field exercises in conjunction with other local emergency agencies.
One major local exercise some years ago assumed widespread significant damage resulting in injuries and deaths in Tallahatchie County.
The training assumed a complete loss of communications, including cell towers, and utilized only satellite phones and local ham radio operators to share information between emergency response agencies, including fire, law enforcement and medical.
The scenario also assumed disruption of utilities, including natural gas and electrical power; the formation of sinkholes that block the flow of traffic, including emergency vehicles along roads and major thoroughfares such as Highway 49; and a series of spontaneous critical incidents such as chemical spills and fires that might be caused by a major earthquake.
Why all the brouhaha?
Northwestern Mississippi is situated beyond the tail end of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which encompasses parts of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Illinois, but not so far away that we could not be impacted by a large quake along that fault line.
Since 1811, there have been at least 20 damaging earthquakes on the fault, which is named for New Madrid, Missouri, where in 1812 an estimated magnitude 7.5 quake was centered that reportedly rang church bells in Boston, Massachusetts.
There have been many small quakes in the area that have been felt but did not cause any damage, and many more still that have been registered by sensitive instruments which detect even the slightest ground movement.
Hundreds of small earthquakes reportedly occur yearly in the central United States, including in the White River Seismic Zone, which runs from near Newport, Arkansas, to near Grenada, Mississippi.
The earliest and strongest earthquake reported in Mississippi occurred in this fault zone on Dec. 16, 1931, and was centered, of all places, in Tallahatchie County.
According to a U.S. Geological Survey account, the maximum intensity of the estimated 4.6 magnitude quake was felt in the Charleston area, where “several chimneys were thrown down ... and the walls and foundation of the agricultural high school were cracked. Minor damage to chimneys also occurred at Tillatoba and Water Valley, several buildings were damaged slightly and plaster fell at Belzoni.”
Beyond Mississippi, the earthquake was reported to have been felt in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Because of the potential risks, MEMA is engaged in earthquake public awareness and education efforts.
Discernable earthquakes are so rare here that who knows if any of us will remember the following safety tips, but they’re worth reading and trying to know.
• If inside, move against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases or tall furniture that could fall on you. Then, “drop, cover and hold on” — drop under a sturdy desk or table and hold on to one leg of the table or desk. Wait in your safe place until the shaking stops, then check to see if you are hurt. Be ready for additional earthquakes, called “aftershocks.”
• If outdoors, move away from buildings, trees, street lights and power lines. Crouch down and cover your head.
• If in a vehicle, drive away from underpasses and overpasses and stop in a safe area. Stay in the car with your seat belt fastened.
Unlike in the movies, during an earthquake the ground does not open up and swallow people, houses, etc. Most casualties result from falling objects and debris.
I know. What are the odds of a major earthquake here?
Probably greater than those of an impact event, such as an asteroid crashing into the Tallahatchie hill country.
Plus, I don’t think there’s much way to prepare for that.
