I lived for a couple years in New Madrid county (pro tip for anyone reading: it's pronounced with the stress on the first syllable with an "a" like apple, btw),

I lived for a couple years in New Madrid county (pro tip for anyone reading: it's pronounced with the stress on the first syllable with an "a" like apple, btw), and I think this is right. But the people are also not entirely wrong: it's dreadfully poor, so adding extra cost to buildings for something that might happen in the next 50 years is a tough sell. I think people safe and sound and wealthy in California aren't really familiar with the perspective I saw there. It's like, what's the worst that can happen? You die? Tragedy and death are kind of expected and built in. People are generally very religious, a good number of people are in the military or at least have absorbed the idea that it's valorous to die for an ideal, and besides that are poor and don't really have health insurance and are accustomed to the the lingering idea of dying somewhat young. Before we even talk about building code for earthquakes, let's remember that a whole bunch of people are living in trailers or double-wides in a relatively active tornado zone! One of my wife's colleagues died in a tornado while we were there and it was scary and horrible. And there are no basements because the water table is so high, so even moderately sturdier construction like our apartment is still honestly a little dicey. Several times my wife and I were huddled in our bathroom wearing bicycle helmets and a mattress draped over us with the tornado sirens sounding. Nature is scary and ultimately it feels like there's just limits to what poor Southeastern Missouri can afford to do about it.