Earthquakes are New Madrid's claim to fame. But that's the last thing on residents' minds • Missouri Independent

NEW MADRID – The city of New Madrid seems obsessed with the fault lines looming beneath its surface.

“It's Our Fault” signs line the road into town, past cotton fields and defunct factories that once served as reliable employers.

Local businesses, those that still exist, are not shy about referencing earthquakes in their branding.

The city's main attraction is a museum detailing the history of the 1811 earthquakes that caused the nearby Mississippi River to flow backwards.

But for most people living in New Madrid, mistakes are an afterthought.

According to a 2022 report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, only 11.4% of residences in the region have earthquake insurance. Hardly any buildings are built to withstand a major attack.

Jeff Grunewald is the director of the New Madrid Historical Museum and the city's de facto expert on all things earthquakes. He tells tourists every day about the history linked between the city and the faults, and the fact that an earthquake could happen again at any moment is largely met with acceptance.

“If that happens, I think we'll just kind of have to deal with it and move on and hope for the best,” Grunwald said. “Fingers crossed, kind of thing.”

It wasn't always like this. In 2000, 60.2% of residences in the area had earthquake insurance.

But today, New Madrid residents say they have bigger problems.

More urgent problems

On a sunny, mild fall day, what was once a thriving cultural and commercial center for New Madrid's 2,800 residents lies deserted. There are hardly any businesses still operating, and cracked, crumbling and sometimes dilapidated buildings are not an uncommon sight.

“When I was a kid, Main Street was booming,” said Malinda Dawson Grunwald, 63, who is married to Jeff, and whose family has lived in New Madrid for generations. “Every Saturday, you'd get a quarter and walk to Walgreens and get a soda for 10 cents and a candy bar for five cents. There wasn't an empty spot on Main Street.

The city is surrounded by cotton growing plantations. Residents say that these farms were a major source of employment, but technological progress has reduced employment opportunities.

“What used to take three people takes one person,” said Latham Hunter, who was born and raised in New Madrid. “And this in less than the last decade.”

As retail and agricultural opportunities diminished, New Madrid became a monolithic city, with a large portion of its population dependent on a few employers. So it's not surprising that of much greater concern than a magnitude 7 quake is the impact of Magnitude 7 Metals, a nearby plant that employs more than 500 workers and will close in early 2024.

In the nearby town of Dexter, Tyson Foods had closed a plant the previous year. It laid off about 700 people.

After putting food on the table and paying for flood and medical insurance, there is not enough room in residents' wallets to spend on earthquake insurance. This is made worse by rising costs. Earthquake insurance in southeast Missouri is about eight times more expensive than it was in 2000, according to a report from the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Additionally, Missouri does not have comprehensive building codes, deferring this responsibility to local governments. New Madrid County only requires that large, non-residential, non-public buildings be constructed with earthquake safety. For a small town, this means no earthquake-safe buildings.

“Just life issues, just standard day-to-day things, will probably interfere with you getting a long-term view of risk,” Jeff Grunwald said.

“Plus, people don't like to think about scary things,” he added.

Little reminders

On most days, the faults groan, sending small shock waves throughout the region. The vibration is often slight, even unnoticeable. But for three months 200 years ago, that was not the case. Rifts terrorized New Madrid during the winter of 1811 and 1812.

Thousands of small earthquakes destabilized the Mississippi River, flooding the sparsely populated city and taking people's homes with them. Hundreds of severe earthquakes destroyed stone buildings as far away as St. Louis. The final blow was three massive earthquakes, which made the Mississippi River flow backwards, created temporary waterfalls and pretty much wiped New Madrid off the map.

Since then, things have remained mostly silent.

The peace that follows devastation makes Madrid's new earthquake zone unique. The San Andreas Fault out West delivers punishing jolts every so often. There have been about six major earthquakes along the San Andreas in the past century, while New Madrid has not experienced any.

This helps keep it out of people's minds.

“Sometimes, we'll get a shiver and someone says, 'Did you feel that?'” “That's it,” said Sandra Patton, who has lived her whole life in a shoe stand.

The USGS estimates that there is a 25% to 40% chance of an earthquake of magnitude 6 or greater in the next 50 years and a 7 to 10% chance of a repeat of the 1811–1812 earthquake.

There are efforts being made by government and national organizations to secure people and buildings. But these did not go far.

The townspeople continue to believe that everything will be okay.

“I know how the story ends, so I didn't worry too much about the earthquake because I'm strong spiritually,” said Stacy Becky, a retiree who works as a waitress at the New Madrid Country Club. “I know where I'm headed regardless. I know there won't be a flood, because he promised he wouldn't flood the Earth again. So, I don't worry about those things.”

There is also a prevailing feeling that if something happens, insurance won't make much of a difference.

“If it happened the way they said it would, there was nothing we could do about it,” Becky said. “So just be prepared forever.”

The residents of New Madrid also depend on each other to face what the future holds. Many of the indigenous people left the city after they grew up, but found themselves back in New Madrid later in life, missing the close-knit community.

“You never feel alone or unsafe,” said Malinda Dawson Grunwald, whose family has lived in New Madrid since the 1700s. “You always feel like if you run out of gas, the next person that passes you, you'll know, they'll stop and help you.”

The desire to help others doesn't stop at city limits. Last fall, four members of the New Madrid County Ambulance District traveled hundreds of miles to help victims of back-to-back Florida hurricanes, Helen and Milton.

“There may come a day and time where there's a major earthquake here in New Madrid County where we're going to need some help,” said Principal Patrick Garrison. “So, while we have the resources and equipment available, let's go ahead and send them out and provide those resources to their local community.”

People in New Madrid are preparing in other ways. Some described having a “suitcase” in case they needed to make a quick escape. Schools participate in the Great Central US ShakeOut, an annual earthquake drill. One local school has a safe room designed to withstand severe disasters.

Although it may have limited utility in earthquake.

“If there's a tornado, we have warning that it's coming, so we can move all of our students and staff into that building,” said Anthony Roberts, director of school safety and security for the New Madrid County R-1 School District. . “In the event of an earthquake, there is no way, without warning, to move them all there.”

This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.

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