Emerson and Talent Call for Earthquake Preparedness Drills in Missouri

Two members of Missouri’s Congressional delegation – Senator Jim Talent and southeast Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson – are asking the U.S. Homeland Security Department to coordinate emergency response exercises in areas that could be affected by an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault, whcih runs through Emerson’s district. Emerson says the problems and failures associated with Hurricane Katrina emergency response efforts are proof that a drill is necessary. Forecasters place a 90 percent probability on the event of an earthquake greater than 6 on the Richter Scale striking the fault system before 2040.