If a big earthquake occurred in New Madrid, Missouri region, would Ohioans have enough time to be warned before the seismic waves hit the state?
The fastest-moving seismic waves, P waves, travel at about 6 kilometers per second. The Cincinnati area is about 500 kilometers from the New Madrid zone; therefore, P waves from a large New Madrid event would reach southwestern Ohio in a little less than a minute and a half and the more damaging S waves would arrive about a minute later. This would not be enough time to warn people to take cover, but automatic electronic warning systems could be triggered to shut down some critical facilities.