by Frank James
The Earth must've known something was up.
This morning's earthquake in southern Illinois which was felt throughout the Midwest and Upper South came just days before some of the nation's leading seismologists are due to meet in Seattle for the National Earthquake Conference.
That conference starts next Tuesday. Perhaps Mother Earth wanted to give the attendees some fresh material.
And on Monday, the U.S. Geologic Survey had scheduled the release of its updated national seismic hazards maps, an event which now will probably get more attention than it would have before today's magnitude 5.2 earthquake, the strongest in southern Illinois since 1968, according to the service. Talk about good timing.
Friday's earthquake allowed the USGS to issue a warning to Americans who thought only Californians had to worry about temblors and such to be stop being so smug.
According to the survey:
Today's early morning earthquake that jolted many in the central U.S. is a reminder that seismic events do occur in areas not normally thought of as "earthquake country." It is also a lesson that earthquakes east of the Mississippi River are felt more widely than those in the west. This event was felt as far west as Kansas, as far north as the Upper Michigan, and as far south as Georgia.
• 
• 
• 
• 
Comments
"NATIONAL GUARD SPEAKS"
WE MISSED ANOTHER ONE, WE MISSED ANOTHER CATASTROPHE! WHAT ABOUT MY MOM, MY DAD, MY ELDERLY GRANDMOTHER. WHAT ABOUT MY FAMILY, WHAT ABOUT MY CHILDREN. ARE THEY OKAY!
MY AT&T GIPHONEHOME CALLING CARD IS OUT OF MINUTES, WHAT HAPPENED, IS EVERYONE OKAY?
THERE IS NO "FEMA" I DIDN'T SEE BROWNIE OR CHERTOFF IN THE AREA, WE DIDN'T SEE ANY "NATIONAL GUARDSMEN" OR THE CORP OF ENGINEERS INSPECTING OUR ROADS, BRIDGES, LAKES, CANALS FOR DAMAGES. IS EVERYONE OKAY.
THE MEDIA ISN'T ALLOWED TO TALK OR SHOW ANYTHING, AS THERE IS NO "FEMA" OR THE "STATES NATIONAL GUARD" OR THEIR EQUIPMENT.
IS EVERYONE OKAY. IT'S WASN'T THE BIG ONE WAS IT?
CAN SOMEONE CALL ME, I'M STUCK IN IRAQ AND I CAN'T FIND OUT ABOUT LOVED ONES IN THE AREA.
CAN SOMEONE SEND MONEY, SO WE CAN AFFORD TO BY "AT&T GIPHONEHOME CALLING CARDS. NOTHING ELSE IS ALLOWED!
IS "BLACKWATER" ROAMING THE STREETS? IS "BLACKWATER GUARDING MY CHILDREN?
WE ARE HERE, YOU ARE THERE, AND FEMA IS NOWHERE. PLEASE SEND NEWS, PLEASE SEND HOPE!
WE ARE HERE, SO NO ONE ELSE CAN BE THERE!
NO GUARDSMEN IN SIGHT!
NO FEMA IN SIGHT!
IT'S LIKE EVERYWHERE ELSE IN AMERICA. THUMBS ARE UP, AND THE GOP IS SMILING WHILE GOING TO THE BANK.
GET YOUR GENERATOR, $5,000, GET YOUR BOTTLED WATER, IT'S ON IT'S WAY DOWN FROM "MAINE" SHOULD BE HERE NEXT WEEK. MEANWHILE, WATCHOUT FOR OUR "MILITIA" THEY ARE UNDER PRESIDENTIAL ORDERS TO SHOOT AND THEN ASK WHY LATER!
"BLACKWATER, AND WE DO MEAN BLACK WATER!
Posted by: Roger Morris | April 18, 2008 7:37 PM
This is all the fault of global warming, Big Oil, and George Bush and his tax cuts.
Posted by: Terry | April 18, 2008 8:51 PM
Frank stop talking about Motther Earth its Almighty God that does things as in legal contracts for centuries an Act of God.
Only pagans and secularists talk about Mother Earth she doesn't exist only in partisan liberal Democrat jargon.
Environmental concerns are a partisan way for liberal Democrats to raise taxes and grow governent. Conservation will do nothing to help us we need to drill for oil and build refineries while working on successful alternative fuels were not there yet.
Man is not doing anything wrong to"Mother Earth" God made the eart durable enough to handle many thousands of generations of humans.
I am sick of environmental wackos and their stupid theories its all new age psychobabble.
So we had an Earthquake get over it we have tornados and hurricanes too so get used to it it's not global warming or cooling its earthquakes, tornados and huricanes period. Jerry White, Springfield, IL
Posted by: Jerry White | April 19, 2008 4:17 PM