The merits of earthquake coverage

Everyone has a story to tell today about this
morningâ??s earthquake, which came from West Salem, Ill., and measured 5.4 on the Richter scale. People were awakened. Things
moved.

This quake was a piker compared to the devastation the New Madrid fault could throw at us. That fault, which runs along the
eastern edge of Missouriâ??s bootheel, is thought to have produced three to five quakes in 1811 and 1812, with at least one
measuring above 8 on the Richter scale.

Hard to believe, maybe, but they are said to have rang church bells in Boston and cracked Washington, D.C., sidewalks.

Seismologists say it could happen again. Yet, who knows how far in the future that might be?

Is it worth the expense for businesses and homeowners in this part of the country to carry extra insurance?