New Madrid (eBook)

During

CERI, University of Memphis, 2:02 a.m.

It wasn’t the strongest earthquake of all times—not even the strongest earthquake in Tennessee history. However, there were two things that made for all of the ingredients of a cataclysmic disaster. First, the epicenter of the earthquake was a mere 15 miles from downtown Memphis, a previously uncharted fault line but clearly an extension of the New Madrid fault. Indeed, the January 17, 1971, Northridge, California earthquake which killed 57 people, including 16 at the Northridge Meadows apartment complex, was a previously uncharted fault line as well.

The second thing that created such destruction was the continuity of the Memphis soil. Dr. Warren’s concern about liquefaction turned out, unfortunately, to be true.

As Allen Newsome, who was at CERI under a desk holding on to the desk for dear life when it happened, he was the first to learn the magnitude of the quake. It turned out to be 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale, the second most powerful earthquake in U.S. history—more powerful than the 1906 earthquake San Francisco earthquake (7.8 moment magnitude), more powerful than the 1971 San Fernando earthquake (6.7 moment magnitude), and even more powerful than the more recent San Francisco quake (6.9 moment magnitude). The only U.S. earthquake that had been larger was, ironically, the estimated 8.1 of the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake. The instruments at CERI automatically transmitted their data to a variety of centers and agencies throughout the United States.

Allen hung on as equipment and anything that wasn’t tied down were either flung across the room or hit the ground with a terrifying crash. Earthquakes typically last only 10–30 seconds but people who live through these terrifying events say it feels like the earth would never stop shaking. The Memphis New Madrid earthquake, as it later would be called, lasted 26 seconds.

And just like that, the shaking stopped. CERI was full of dust and debris but the structure held. Allen waited a bit and, gosh, realized from the wetness in his pants, how scared he really had been.

Fortunately, CERI had installed a backup generator which kicked in about 10 seconds later. Since in a major earthquake one can’t rely on the supply of natural gas, it was powered by a reinforced underground propane tank. It was estimated that this supply would last five to six days since protocol dictated that only the minimal amount of energy was to be used.

Allen cautiously got up, dusted himself off, and ventured a look outside. There was dust and debris everywhere. The power poles lines were strewn across Central Avenue like toothpicks. There was a large fissure in the Central Avenue parking lot. He then braved a look in the direction of the University of Memphis’s main campus.

What he saw appalled him. A ghastly orange glow.

The University of Memphis was on fire.

Downtown Memphis, 2:02 a.m.

Memphis Police Officers Jimmy Jones and Howard Warner held on for dear life in their patrol car in the parking lot overlooking the Mississippi. From the vantage point where they sat, they viewed more carnage than any human should ever have to witness. The two major bridges that connected Memphis and West Memphis Arkansas were swaying wildly. The Memphis & Arkansas bridge, which was the older and less strong than its sister bridge, the Harahan bridge, buckled and fell into the Mississippi River first.

Oh my God, thought Officer Jones—even at 2:00 in the morning there were cars on that bridge! They watched in horror as they helplessly watched a dozen or so cars and a handful of trucks fall helplessly into the Mississippi.

The Harahan bridge (also known at the Hernando de Soto Bridge) is the other major bridge connecting Arkansas to Tennessee. This bridge is special for two reasons. First, it is known for its beautiful lights that create a dazzling nighttime spectacle that can be seen and enjoyed for miles. These lights were funded and maintained by a non-profit company called Mighty Lights. Second, it has the longest pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi River.

The Harahan bridge lasted maybe 10 seconds longer. But both officers Jones and Warner knew it was going to topple based on how it was buckling and swaying. As the bridge started its slow but inevitable fall to the Mississippi River, Officers Jones counted at least a dozen cars coming that fell with the bridge, the drivers facing certain death. To seal their fates, a couple of large tractor trailer trucks landed on top of these cars, forcing them underwater. Any driver not killed instantly by the initial impact certainly drowned. Neither officer could see whether or not there were people walking or jogging across the pedestrian bridge but they were certain there were and that these people met the same fact as the drivers of the doomed automobiles and trucks.

They couldn’t see the railroad bridge that traversed the river but both assumed it met the same fate as the other two bridges. Indeed it had.

Towards the end of the shaking, Officer Jones sensed it before he heard it. He looked toward the Mississippi River and then heard a sound he had never heard before. Sort of a gurgling sound combined with a sucking sound. And he heard water. Lots and lots of water. Where on earth was all that water coming from?

Then he saw what had to be a hallucination. Maybe the jolts in the squad car caused a temporary concussion. But it looked like the Bass Pro Shop—he couldn’t believe his eyes; the Bass Pro Shop, the huge Memphis Pyramid, all 321 feet of it—was getting smaller. No, it was sinking! He looked at Officer Warner and his eyes were staring wide eye at the sight in disbelief.

Police Officer Jones then heard a second sound and looked over to Mud Island. Technically Mud Island is not an island but a small peninsula surrounded by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River Harbor to the east. It has a museum, restaurants, and a 5000-seat amphitheater. It has a monorail that provides free access to the island. There is also a footbridge that was made famous in the chase scene in Tom Cruise’s movie “The Firm”.

He heard the same set of sounds coming from Mud Island. And it was shrinking too. Not shrinking, it was sinking too!

Within 30 seconds, both were gone. And so were any people that were working in either facility.

Bass Pro Shop, Downtown Memphis, One Minute Earlier

Originally called the Great American Pyramid, it started out as a 20,000+ seat arena. The facility was built in downtown Memphis and opened its doors in 1991. It was originally owned jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County but Shelby County sold its share to the city of Memphis in 2009. It was home to the University of Memphis basketball team and briefly the NBA Memphis Grizzlies. It was clear that upgrading the Pyramid to NBA standards was not financially viable and they built, and subsequently moved to the FedEx forum. The University of Memphis basketball team also plays its games at the incredibly well-designed FedEx Forum.

A $30 million dollar seismic retrofit then occurred and it became one of the largest Bass Pro Shops in the world. There was, of course, the retail store, but there was also an archery range, shooting range, and laser arcade. There was a restaurant, bowling alley, and a saltwater aquarium. There was also a 100-room hotel that was usually filled to capacity.

The Memphis Bass Pro Shop has been wildly successful and attracts over a million people a year. But in the middle of the night, there was just a small cleaning crew as well as a handful of security guards that watched both inside the shop as well as two guards that worked the perimeter on the outside.

Billy Smith was pushing his custodian’s cart through one of the several aisles of merchandise when the Memphis New Madrid hit. He instinctively hit the ground and crawled to a large canoe and got under it. Almost immediately, the power failed but emergency lights partially illuminated the store. Ceiling tiles fell like rain throughout the shop and visibility was reduced to virtually zero. But Billy knew about the expensive seismic retrofit and confidently waited for the shaking to stop, happy under the protection of this large canoe.

Then, an odd sensation hit him. What the hell? How can this be? The floor is wet! What—did a major water pipe burst? But it was rising faster than any broken water pipe. Thinking quickly, he decided that his canoe would be a life raft for him. But my gawd, where is all this water—muddy, silty water coming from?

He wasn’t able to right the canoe before the water enveloped him.

Downtown Memphis, Two Minutes Later, 2:03 a.m.

Once the shaking stopped, Memphis Officer Jimmy Jones reached for the squad car radio and called for Memphis dispatch. He got nothing but static in response. Officers Jones and Warner decided to venture out of the car and survey the damage. The frontage road by the Mississippi River, Riverside Drive, was buckled in spots and looked to be largely impassable unless one drove on the sidewalks or grass. Officer Jones looked toward downtown Memphis and saw a swirl of dust, heard dozens of alarms sounding, and saw several places that were glowing orange—an indication of fires. He started hearing dozens of sirens where fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances were responding. But responding to what? All communications were down. Howard commented that the cellphone towers were undoubtedly down. Officer Jones looked at...