As far as natural disasters go, earthquakes tend to be far from the minds of Lehigh Valley residents. That is, of course, until a recent 4.0 magnitude earthquake in Maine brought the possibility closer to home.
That earthquake, as well as the one last year in Virginia, have several Lehigh Valley residents questioning whether an earthquake of similar magnitude could possible hit the Lehigh Valley.
So, could the Lehigh Valley experience an earthquake?
It's not very likely, says Dr. Larry Malinconico, associate professor of Geology and Geophysics at Lafayette College in Easton.
"The fact of the matter is that earthquakes tend to occur at active tectonic margins," said Malinconico. "The recent earthquake occurred on old faults that are reactivated for some reason, but it's rare."
While the Lehigh Valley does have some old fault lines, Malinconico says any activity along these lines would be extremely rare. "These local fault lines are from hundreds of millions of years ago. Any activity along these lines are fairly scattered."
That's not to say that the Lehigh Valley has been immune to earthquakes throughout history. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a few small to midsize earthquakes in our area, the last one of moderate magnitude hitting Sept 14, 1961.
As far as natural disasters go, Malinconico says that earthquakes should be near the bottom of our list.
"The biggest [natural disaster concerns for the valley] is flooding," he said, citing the recent flooding from Hurricane Irene as an example. "Earthquakes are nothing to worry about from a short-term or long-term perspective."
Thanks for writing in! The earthquake last year was in Virginia, we've included a link to our story from last year in this article.
never say never. The comments all relate to activity centered elsewhere. If, an EQ were to be centered here in the LV, it would be a memorable event. Save your money from EQ insurance and invest in sinkhole insurance.
bouyed up by the relatively high water table but occasionally the water table drops and these underground caverns collapse and we see a sinkhole at the surface. Just look at farm fields and you can see depressions, these are sometime called ghost lakes they are the visual clues to a collapse below. Groundwater is all so important. When the Friedensville zinc mine was operating, they pumped so much water many sinkholes formed in.the in the surrounding valley. When they stopped in the early 80's the subsidence also did. I can say more.
When the mines stopped pumping the threat of the water rising unprohibited was a concern. His thoughts were that the water could possibly rise to area's that were now largely inhabited. There is no record of the land area prior to the zinc mine operation. If the water would return to its centuries old locations, he said people could wake up to find there house (and them) in the middle of a pond or stream. He also said it could be a surprise along the new (at the time not completed) I-78. Luckily the township is now pumping and using the water and it is in check.