Those four words are bandied about among neighbors, friends and
family members whenever a known earthquake hits the New England
area. You were probably asked that very question on Oct. 16,
when a 4.6 magnitude earthquake centered in Maine was felt in
parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Chances are you got
through the Great New England Earthquake unscathed, and may have
even had a chuckle or two over it. Within hours the tremors had
spawned a Facebook page, “I Survived the 10/16/12 Earthquake,”
illustrated by a photograph of an overturned plastic lawn chair
and the words “Never Forget.” Earthquakes may be somewhat of a
joke around these parts, but they’re serious business for
Patrick Barosh. A geologist for more than half a century, he’s
been all over the world studying the earth’s structure —
including the impact a serious earthquake would have on it. Mr.
Barosh worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for 16 years and
then for five years ran a program for the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) on assessin