Unless you live in earthquake-prone California, you probably don't think twice about earthquakes. But just because you don't live on the west coast, that doesn't mean you're safe:
We may not be able to accurately predict earthquakes, but the USGS has determined that the locations most likely to suffer a large earthquake in the next 30 years are:
The New Madrid Zone:
Believe it or not, this 120 mile stretch following the Mississippi River created the largest earthquake ever recorded in the continental US. This was an estimated 8.1 (on the Richter scale) which is equivalent to the energy released with an explosion of 1 Billion tons of TNT. For comparison, the energy released in a small atomic bomb would be much smaller in size and be equivalent to a 4.0 on the Richter scale. Memphis and St. Louis are right on the zone, and large portions of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Southern Illinois are likely to be effected by a New Madrid Zone earthquake as well.
I've lived in red zones for twenty years now ... moved here from a blue zone.
The other folks who I don't think are fully aware of the hazard are those along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Seattle, I'm talking to you.)
Research it further and you'll also find that the 8.1 quake also caused the mighty Mississippi to flow backwards.
I'm in the orange zone also.