Having worked at the federal level and state level on planning efforts for a New Madrid earthquake, and following on the heels of NLE-11, I was fascinated to read the stories about the havoc the 5.8 earthquake caused: people running through the Pentagon screaming evacuate evacuate, schools in DC closed, damage to national monuments, etc.

A New Madrid event, predicted to be around a 7.7, will release almost 1,000 times more energy and I have briefed a number of agencies on the catastrophic results of such an event. Keep this in mind if you read any NLE-11 After Action reports that indicate we are anywhere near prepared for a New Madrid. I think the poor performance we saw August 23rd speaks volumes on how poorly prepared we are even in out nation’s capital.