Kristin R. MoyerALERT: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee Bankers just had “reasonably foreseeable hazard or risk” redefined for them.
Rick DeLotto here… FEMA just announced the publication of “Impact of Earthquakes on the Central USA “ defining the risks to this 8 state area from a earthquake at the New Madrid Fault in Missouri’s southeast corner. They predict a large earthquake would drive “the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States” and cause “widespread and catastrophic physical damage” across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee — home to some 44 million people”. Several scenarios are discussed for various levels of earthquake. Planners expect severe damage to roads, buildings, power distribution and water supplies, and detail the damage to be expected to typical structures from each.
BCM staff and risk managers should download this report immediately to see what they might face and determine if their business continuity plans require update. The prospect of massive infrastructure damage, for example, should drive formal reassessment of exactly where banks, and other commercial buildings, stand in the priority list for fire and emergency services in the case of a regional disaster. Expect “New Madrid” questions to be brought up at your next examination or audit!
Several other studies and workshops are planned as part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Earthquake Disaster Response Planning Initiative, and as part of the critical infrastructure you should try to get some input. Banks outside of the area should examine the report carefully as well-east-coast earthquakes travel a lot further than those in the western US, and damage could be more widespread than many anticipate. The major “historic” New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 were felt as far away from the site as Boston, MA.
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Category: Uncategorized Tags: banking and investment services, bcm, business continuity management, earthquake, fema
