Portions of eleven states shook when a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocked our neighbor to the south. Army Corps of Engineers Operations Project Manager Brian McNulty says, "Very easily we can have those kinds of quakes here in Kansas, like they had in Oklahoma."
McNulty says the Corps stabilized the Tuttle Creek Dam in Manhattan for exactly what happened Saturday night. A few years ago, an earthquake that size could have been catastrophic to the Little Apple. McNulty says, "We were projecting 10 feet of water in the mall in Manhattan. So, it would've been a large release."
$175 million paid for the project, but McNulty says it saved billions in potential flood damage and hundreds of lives. He says, "We were projecting up to 400 people would lose their lives because of the short warning time."
The Humboldt fault line runs from the Oklahoma City area to Northeast Kansas. McNulty says after the shake, rattle, and roll of the latest quake, Corps engineers know the stabilization was well worth it. He says there were a lot of critics through the project, "Who said we don't have earthquakes in the midwest. I think this proves our point that we do have earthquakes in the midwest."
The stabilization prepared the dam to withstand an earthquake up to 6.6 magnitude. Experts say that is the maximum strength Kansas is likely to see.
They also say during an earthquake, you should drop to the ground and take cover under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture. If you are outside, move away from buildings, street lights and utility wires.
