On Sunday morning September 3rd, the countryside around Napa, Calif. — known worldwide for fine wines --- was violently shaken by a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. Three people were seriously injured, almost 100 were slightly injured, and about 2500 structures were damaged. At least one residence and one commercial structure were condemned and are total losses. Early damage estimates from the earthquake approach $60,000,000.

Chimneys from hundreds of homes fell to the ground, thousands of windows were broken, and countless items were knocked from shelves in businesses, retail centers and homes. Foundations and walls were cracked and weakened. Electrical power was interrupted to thousands of customers. Hundreds of water and gas lines were broken.

This was all from an earthquake of "only" magnitude 5.2, a relatively small earthquake. This was also in an area that has up-to-date building codes and strict building-code compliance.

The Missouri Seismic Safety Commission notes that the injuries and damage from this earthquake in the Napa, Calif. area should serve as a reminder to those in the central US. Earthquakes can occur essentially anywhere in this region. Earthquakes occur without warning and cannot be predicted. While California and other parts of the US west have more earthquakes, the overall earthquake risk in Missouri and the central US is comparable.

"In Missouri, much of our development and construction has been completed without really planning for earthquakes," said William Durbin, PE, Chair of the Missouri Seismic Safety

Commission. "In 93 of the 114 Missouri counties, building codes are not authorized by law. And in most of our cities older versions of the building code are on the books. This type of building and development just doesn't give us the benefit of what engineers have learned in recent earthquakes, such as Northridge and Kobe."

General design and construction practices in the central US put the area at higher risk than California, considering an earthquake of the same size.

"While the area at highest risk is southeast Missouri, anywhere in the central US could experience an earthquake in the mid-five range," Durbin said. "The New Madrid fault zone just increases the earthquake risk for the southeastern two-thirds of Missouri."

The Missouri Seismic Safety Commission was created by legislation in 1995 and consists of 17 members, including one State Representative and one State Senator. Appointed by the Governor, Commission members come from diverse backgrounds such as insurance, the American Red Cross, business, local government, planning, engineering, and geosciences.