New fault line 'could trigger quake disaster' in US

A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a huge magnitude-7 earthquake with an epicentre near a major natural gas pipeline, a scientist in the US has warned.

Haydar Al-Shukri, director of the Arkansas Earthquake Centre at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said the fault was separate from the New Madrid fault responsible for a series of quakes from 1811-1812 that caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards.

Acres of cotton fields cover the fault west of Marianna, about 100 miles east of Little Rock, but stretches of fine sand mixed with fertile soil gave away the fault’s location, Mr Al-Shukri said.

Liquefied sand bubbled up through cracks in the earth, while ground radar and digs showed vents that let the sand reach the surface, he said.

The fault, probably created in the last 5,000 years, sparked at least one magnitude-7 earthquake in its history. Such temblors cause massive destruction in their wake.

“This is a very, very dangerous (area) at risk of earthquake,” Mr Al-Shukri said.

“When you talk about (magnitude) 7 and plus, this is going to be a major disaster.”

Mr Al-Shukri did not identify a time frame for the potential earthquake.

Such a quake would affect Little Rock and neighbouring states such as Tennessee and Mississippi, Mr Al-Shukri said.

The researcher has said a gas pipeline crossed the newly-discovered fault. He would not name the company that owned the pipeline.

Mr Al-Shukri had said in a speech at the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service that the company was building a large line through the area, mirroring the old one’s path.

A map made by the Arkansas Public Service Commission shows an Arkla Energy Resources pipe in the area. A spokeswoman for CenterPoint Energy, which owns Arkla, said the company worked closely with public officials to prepare response plans for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Pipes are “all over the place”, Rebecca Virden said. “We, CenterPoint Energy, or someone else has a pipeline everywhere.”

Carl Weimer, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust in Bellingham, Washington, said companies with lines running through earthquake-prone Southern California had extra safety features including “more valves and different types of valves in case something happens and the pipeline can be shut off quicker”.

Clint Stephens, the chief of pipeline safety at the commission, said the US government would oversee any interstate lines.

The US Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment.