It's about earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Check your history about seismic events in and near Kansas.
An earthquake in California would cause less damage than one in Kansas, because CA buildings are designed for earthquakes.
A major fault line runs through Kansas. Lack of earthquake activity can be a sign that pressure is building up along that ridge which is why folks fear a 7.0 magnitude quake.
Notice where the recent Oklahoma earthquake is in relation to the Humboldt fault line?
Also think of what happened in Puerto Rico
Not normally thought of as a place that gets earthquakes. This is likely related to the solar minimum that is happening now.
The 1867 Manhattan earthquake in Kansas happened one month after Solar cycle 11 began, i.e. at the end of a quiet period. I wonder if we now have better info about the correlation of earthquakes to sunspot activity.