Hello all! Professor Conevery Bolton Valencius was so eager to get things started that she's opened up the floor early to collect questions about the history of the great New Madrid earthquakes. Feel free to submit them here, and we'll take care of them! (And if you have the time, check out her lecture at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. )

Ooh, cool. What was the economic effect of the earthquakes on the region? Also, according to wiki, one of the witnesses originally thought the 'Indians were coming'. How real a threat was this?

How devastating would the 1811/12 earthquake be if it happened today? Is there any idea on what the frequency of this quake is?

Wikipedia page for the earthquakes mentions that the governor, William Clark asked the federal government for help in 1814. What was the answer and what was done to help the populations that suffered ?