Impact of earthquakes on the Central USA

The investigation summarized in this report includes earthquake impact assessment scenarios completed using HAZUS-MH MR2 for several potential earthquake scenarios affecting Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. These scenarios are designed to provide scientifically credible, worst case damage and loss estimates for the purposes of emergency planning, response and recovery.

The earthquake impact assessments presented in this report employ an analysis methodology comprising three major components; namely hazard, inventory and fragility (or vulnerability). Social impact models are also included in the current assessment methodology and employ infrastructure damage results to estimate the effects on populations subjected to the earthquake. It also contains various types of critical infrastructure that are key inventory components for earthquake impact assessment.

The main body of the report gives state-level impact assessments, whilst the Appendices give earthquake impact modeling results at the county level. The results are designed to provide emergency managers and agencies with information required to establish response plans based on likely impacts of plausible earthquakes in the central USA.