Iben Browning

One man's prediction of an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault from Illinois to Mississippi will prove to be a total non-event, a geologist said. But many residents waited anxiously for today to come and go, the day New Mexico climatologist Iben Browning said was the most likely for a quake. Skeptics partied to music like "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and ordered Jell-O for dessert so they could watch it wiggle.

Iben Browning, who gained the nation's attention last year when he warned that a major earthquake could hit the Midwest, has died of a heart attack. He was 73. Browning, a biophysicist who studied climatic cycles, died Thursday at an Albuquerque hospital. He had lived in Sandia Park east of Albuquerque. His forecast, which did not come true, was widely criticized by geologists, who said it had no scientific basis.

Iben Browning, who gained the nation's attention last year when he warned that a major earthquake could hit the Midwest, has died of a heart attack. He was 73. Browning, a biophysicist who studied climatic cycles, died Thursday at an Albuquerque hospital. He had lived in Sandia Park east of Albuquerque. His forecast, which did not come true, was widely criticized by geologists, who said it had no scientific basis.

Pssst. Heard the latest disaster prediction? The word is the Mississippi River is going to overflow. That should happen say about Wednesday when all the folks along the river who've been stockpiling water for the Big Earthquake finally pour it down the drain. For months a major portion of the Midwest and South, from about Memphis, Tenn., to St. Louis and beyond, braced for the Big One. Schools in parts of four states declared holidays. Earthquake insurance sellers reaped a fortune.

Iben Browning holds dozens of patents in several specialties, but it's his earthquake projections that are stirring up notoriety he says he'd rather do without. Browning said at a conference in Missouri last year there was a high probability of an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault this Dec. 2. He was deluged by calls. He insists that he did not predict an earthquake. "The public always wants everything in black and white," Browning said.

"Only fools, charlatans and liars predict earthquakes." That unkind assessment of those who claim to know when the Earth is most likely to shudder has been attributed to the legendary pioneer in seismology, Charles Richter. The quote has become part of the folklore of the dark art of predicting earthquakes, and many would say it is as true today as when it was allegedly muttered by the Caltech scientist who gave the world its earthquake magnitude scale.

Pssst. Heard the latest disaster prediction? The word is the Mississippi River is going to overflow. That should happen say about Wednesday when all the folks along the river who've been stockpiling water for the Big Earthquake finally pour it down the drain. For months a major portion of the Midwest and South, from about Memphis, Tenn., to St. Louis and beyond, braced for the Big One. Schools in parts of four states declared holidays. Earthquake insurance sellers reaped a fortune.

There's no one alive who remembers the last big earthquake here, it happened so long ago. For that very reason, residents don't get shaken up by talk of tremors, even though scientists have been warning for years that the heartland is due for a doozy. This monster quake, seismologists say, could be the worst natural disaster in American history. The losses could be staggering. Still, folks sitting right on top of the potentially deadly New Madrid Fault only yawned.

A projection of a major earthquake in the Midwest in early December is about as reliable as a random guess, a group of scientists said today. "Such a projection, especially at the predicted 50-50 chance level, implies a level of detailed knowledge . . . that simply does not exist for the New Madrid or any other fault zone in the world," the group said in its report.

A mild earthquake shook west-central Indiana early today, and officials said it had no connection to the infamous New Madrid Fault elsewhere in the Midwest. No damage or injuries were reported. The quake shortly after midnight measured 3.0 on the Richter scale, said Larry B r aile, professor of geosciences at Purdue University. It was felt from Lafayette to Crawfordsville in west-central Indiana, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

One man's prediction of an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault from Illinois to Mississippi will prove to be a total non-event, a geologist said. But many residents waited anxiously for today to come and go, the day New Mexico climatologist Iben Browning said was the most likely for a quake. Skeptics partied to music like "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and ordered Jell-O for dessert so they could watch it wiggle.

"Only fools, charlatans and liars predict earthquakes." That unkind assessment of those who claim to know when the Earth is most likely to shudder has been attributed to the legendary pioneer in seismology, Charles Richter. The quote has become part of the folklore of the dark art of predicting earthquakes, and many would say it is as true today as when it was allegedly muttered by the Caltech scientist who gave the world its earthquake magnitude scale.

There's no one alive who remembers the last big earthquake here, it happened so long ago. For that very reason, residents don't get shaken up by talk of tremors, even though scientists have been warning for years that the heartland is due for a doozy. This monster quake, seismologists say, could be the worst natural disaster in American history. The losses could be staggering. Still, folks sitting right on top of the potentially deadly New Madrid Fault only yawned.

Iben Browning holds dozens of patents in several specialties, but it's his earthquake projections that are stirring up notoriety he says he'd rather do without. Browning said at a conference in Missouri last year there was a high probability of an earthquake along the New Madrid Fault this Dec. 2. He was deluged by calls. He insists that he did not predict an earthquake. "The public always wants everything in black and white," Browning said.

City officials said Friday they are taking seriously the prediction of a Dec. 3 earthquake and have ordered about a dozen department heads not to plan any vacations for that date. "We're just taking precautions and being as prepared as we can be," Deputy City Manager Jeff Doherty said. "If it happens we want to be as prepared as possible." The no-vacation policy does not yet apply to the city's other 250 employees, Doherty said.

High noon came and went today and the people of New Madrid issued a collective sigh of relief. The great earthquake scare of 1990 seemed to be over. Noon marked the midpoint in a disputed but disruptive prediction of a major earthquake in the central United States along the 120-mile fault line named for New Madrid. New Madrid Mayor Dick Phillips, engulfed by a sea of cameras, lights and sound booms, summed it up: "After noon it's history. I think after today people will rest easier."