In this episode of the Disaster Podcast, hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic, are joined by Dr. Joe Holley from the Paragon Medical Education Group to kick off a show that looks at unexpected disasters for your region, wherever that might be. A recently posted news item from the United States Geological Survey where they updated the earthquake hazards for the U.S.

New Insight on the Nation’s Earthquake Hazards – via USGS.gov

Jamie, Sam and Joe talk about how we are all at least somewhat prepared for common disasters seen in our regions – hurricanes for Gulf and East Coast regions, floods in the central U.S. and earthquake and wildfires in the West. But what about unexpected disasters? The new earthquake hazard map for the U.S. features some alarming updates for parts of the country that might have thought they were earthquake-free.

Joe makes some predictions about the preparedness of the Mississippi region for a major New Madrid fault zone earthquake that could disrupt transportation and communication for the entire United States. He also looks at what he would do should he wake up to a major quake where his USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team would be needed closer to home. The hosts also talk about how other U.S. disaster resources would be deployed in the event of such an event.