Another 8.0 would certaintly get everybody's attention even 200 miles away!

Anyone know if Missouri or St. Louis building codes include anything about earthquakes?

There are very few earthquake building codes in effect in these areas. It is my understanding that this is now starting to change, but slowly.

Earthquake is probably the biggest threat you are likely to face in your area that will require you to bugout in a hurry.

The New Madrid fault isn't the only one you have to worry about. There is a new fault that was found that starts 20 miles N of the New Madrid fault line and gets fairly close to StL. They are saying that by 2040, there will be a 90% chance of a major earthquake happening.

Stl does have building codes in place for earthquakes and all the bridges across the Mississippi River have been retrofitted. The problem is that this was based on the New Madrid fault line and not this new one just south of StL. Some of the experts say the bridges will hold up, but the approaches will all fall because of liquifaction. You will be able to see the bridge standing, but not be able to get to it.

Getting out of town is going to be tough since you are limited on escape routes with all the rivers around. Heading West is about your only option, but that is also the only option for everyone else that lives through the quake.

You might want to consider finding someone that lives just outside the county to the West or NW where you can store more supplies. This way, you have a destination that is within a day or two's walk if it comes to that.

I live in the center of the state and have been researching what the effects would be for my area when the big quake hits.

Well, if riots are a concern, it never hurts to have a keg of beer and a boom-box playing the Dropkick Murphys

My corporate headquarters is in St. Louis; I'm flying out there next week to schmooze, and I know quite a few Irish-Americans that live there...that being said, my advice would be to rent a storage facility outside city limits and pre-position supplies there.

A bug-out bag could be stocked enough to get you there (even on foot), and from your new "base" you'd be able to resupply/rearm and continue to march, hopefully to an out of the area relative's place (with whom you have coordinated such action).

Definitely agree. Most of the damage from the 1906 San Fran. earthquake came AFTER the quake, from fires that raged for days.
Looking at more recent quakes, such as the 89 S.F., or the 92 Northridge, lots of damage was either initial, or aftershocks knocking down previously weakened structures.
The moral is, if you worry about New Madrid, just recall that it won't hit once. Check out some of the CA preparedness sites (ARC, city/county fire department preparedness pages, etc), for more info on how to prepare specifically for this threat.

As to the other situations, listen to what folks here have already written.

Civil unrest and earthquakes are not the same, but both do often result in fire. Look at the Rodney King and Watts riots in Los Angels. Lot of fires started by bad guys. And look at Reginal Denny for a good reason to avoid the area populated by those bad guys...

Another thought on earthquakes in that part of the country: Miss. River and broken dikes. Are you higher or lower than the river? What a nightmare THAT combination brings to mind!

ZOWIE!

Sue

Thanks for the advice...as for my experiences and training...I am an Eagle Scout with every camping, survival, and preparedness merit badge. I also spent six years in the Army as a Combat Engineer as well as civilian law enforcement. Even with that said I am always looking for more information as I know that there are plenty of people with more training and experience than myself. Thanks again.

A lot higher than the river...there are two major hills in St. Louis City. One is called the Hill where a lot of Italian-Americans live the other is a mile away called Dogtown where the Irish-Americans live. I live in Dogtown, so I'm lucky to be away from the Mississippi and higher. My house is a brick home built in the early 1900's, so it's probably not built for earthquakes.