Memphis had some serious damage. That and the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco finally woke up our vulnerable state. The Earthquake Advisory Council and the Office of Emergency began public education programs and some training. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has hired the state's first seismologist, who has installed a seismonitor in Little Rock. McFarland's council wants more motion recorders to complement the 50 the Memphis earthquake center has installed underground in Arkansas.
Earthquake insurance is expensive and hard to find in northeast Arkansas.
So at the last session of the General Assembly, Rep. Paul Bookout of Jonesboro passed a law authorizing the state Insurance Department to form a risk pool and start selling it. Insurance companies didn' t like that, and now three companies already have said they will offer stand-alone insurance policies at reasonable prices. In 1991, the legislature adopted a building code containing a seismic code for public buildings constructed in counties in the New Madrid Fault. McFarland, who lobbied for the bill, complains that it has been watered down. This year, for example, the legislature decided to exempt buildings under 4,000 square feet from the code.