Arkansas Code Title 12. Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Military Affairs § 12-77-102. Findings and determinations

(A) There exists a history of violent seismic activity within the central United States seismic zone which includes the New Madrid Fault, the southern branch of the New Madrid Fault being at or about Marked Tree, Arkansas, and extends northeast into Missouri and Tennessee;

(B) That a recurrence of the 1811-1812 earthquake swarm, whereby fifty-five (55) of the approximate two thousand ten (2,010) earthquakes occurring during a three-month period that had surface wave magnitudes of 6.0 -- 8.7 on the Richter scale, estimated to have affected in excess of eight hundred thousand (800,000) square miles, is again possible; and

(C) That it is essential for the protection of life and limb of the citizens of this state, and particularly those approximately six hundred fifty thousand (650,000) citizens on and in close proximity of the fault, that a program be initiated to provide for continuous mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery capability for violent seismic activity.