New Madrid Fault Line.... are we ready? (GDG)

[Summit]

they are currently replacing the original reactor with what they call a "pebble plant" (not sure what the details are).

Pebble bed reactors are a modern reactor des even safer than US BWR and PWR. I don't know what design you guys have (just hope its not RBMK) but pebble bed is better, safer, and easier to deal with. Kudos to South Africa for embracing safer more efficient technology (and that will put you ahead of the US nuclear power industry who is still fighting NIMBY for nationally mandated storage sites from 20 years ago!).

[paraloco]

I was a geology major, I eat this stuff up. If you know nuch about the Mississippi, you know that the system of levees, and the dredging over the years has caused the Mississippi to be above grade in many places, such as New Orleans. If a large enough quake hits, the river will probably change its course, the mouth likely to relocate where I sit right now (over a period of time) We're talking disaster of biblical proportions, mass forced evacuations, social disorder, dog & cats living together, you know, pandemonium! Standards of care would go out the window, state and county lines would be ignored by EMS providers, picking up and transporting wherever needed. It'd be really bad in winter. Diseases would throw in their 2 cents shortly afterward, cholera, dysentery, flu. As refugees ran out of cash and fuel they'd be stranded along roadways and in little towns with few resources to help them. Community ED's would become primary care, and less able to transfer out the bad stuff that comes their way. We would be treating and releasing in the field. Those whose blood boils when the frequent flyers call would finally be allowed to vent on them, and refuse to transport. "You don't need our services!" All this would be right before FEMA took over administration of the affected areas. And imposed order with troops. If overseas wars were still ongoing, get ready, the draft would make a comeback. Especially medical personnel. They just raised the minimum age for enlistees.

[paraloco]

correction, they raised the maximum age. Its in the 40's. sorry

[brentoli]

I was a geology major, I eat this stuff up. If you know nuch about the Mississippi, you know that the system of levees, and the dredging over the years has caused the Mississippi to be above grade in many places, such as New Orleans. If a large enough quake hits, the river will probably change its course, the mouth likely to relocate where I sit right now (over a period of time) We're talking disaster of biblical proportions, mass forced evacuations, social disorder, dog & cats living together, you know, pandemonium! Standards of care would go out the window, state and county lines would be ignored by EMS providers, picking up and transporting wherever needed. It'd be really bad in winter. Diseases would throw in their 2 cents shortly afterward, cholera, dysentery, flu. As refugees ran out of cash and fuel they'd be stranded along roadways and in little towns with few resources to help them. Community ED's would become primary care, and less able to transfer out the bad stuff that comes their way. We would be treating and releasing in the field. Those whose blood boils when the frequent flyers call would finally be allowed to vent on them, and refuse to transport. "You don't need our services!" All this would be right before FEMA took over administration of the affected areas. And imposed order with troops. If overseas wars were still ongoing, get ready, the draft would make a comeback. Especially medical personnel. They just raised the minimum age for enlistees.

Think about this...

Sorry to bring back a dead post

but

everythin in there minus the draft... is happening right now.

[Dustdevil]

Wow, that was WORTH bringing back up! :shock:

If that info was posted here three weeks before it happened, then the mayor of N.O. and the governor of LA better come up with a much better excuse for being wholly unprepared than they are currently offering! :roll:

[Alcomedicism]

DANG!!!! I was onto something when I posted this, I just felt the preparedness of the nation against a natural disaster was low so..................................................

HOLY SHIT< this is freaking me out......................................................

-Alco

[Richard B the EMT]

As for the 1812 (was that the last one?) New Madrid Quake, wasn't the mighty Mississippi River's course changed? Seem to remember something on that order, read about it somewhere.

[Guest]

Richard.. yep.. that's the story.. also it made the bells in Boston Ring.... I used to give this HUGE spiel about the quake when I was a tour guide at a cave attraction here in Missouri. I've done a little research, but I can't find a lot of specific stuff, just a lot of "so and so said" or "it was reported".

[brentoli]

I've noticed that there has been quite a few super old bumps lately.

And in honor of my 1000th post(that I didn't realize I made until 10 posts later), I would like to bump this, the thread with my very first post in it.

Unfortunately, I still haven't contributed anything meaningful to this forum.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the current preparedness of the nation? Have we learned any lessons from Katrina? Is NIMS hurting more then it is helping? Any paper-pushers out there that can chime in on that?

I went through a "tactical" dispatch course a few months ago. The sheer number of forms to fill out on a regional/state/national level response astonished me. No joke, you have to fill out a form to be able to fill out a form to request donuts, and when the donuts arrive you have to fill out a form they arrived. It is amazing they don't inventory them and who took how many donuts.

Can we really work together? If the regional HAZMAT team I am on is called out to Cincinnati on a large scale incident, would we really be able to work together as one?

[MSDeltaFlt]

The current preparedness of the nation belongs on the Comedy Channel because it is a joke. Katrina "awakened" the nation, but she did not "prepare" the nation. That will take 1-2 more natural disasters.

If the Madrid goes like it has been said was overdue since I was in grade school, you won't have to worry about reading my posts any more, because I will more than likely not survive it. I distinctly remember being taught this when I was in grade school. They said the Miss River flowed North after the last quake. Depending on where, and how high the river is displaced and where the levees break when it does go: you can look at my avatar and tell that I will die.

Mississippi and especially the Delta is so low on the national food chain, that when a natural disaster like the one in this post hits, we will get thoroughly thumbed in the ass.

Have a nice day. :wink: