I experienced a few during my 10 years there. I like no longer having to think about where things will fall and break during a quake. (Hey, this is assuming we all make it past 2012 anyway... ) http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/14/california-quake.html Big Quake to Rock Calif. by 2037 Alicia Chang, Associated Press Shaky Future April 14, 2008 -- California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037, scientists said Monday in the first statewide temblor forecast. New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years. The odds of such an event are higher in Southern California than Northern California, 97 percent versus 93 percent. The last time a jolt this size rattled California was the 1994 Northridge disaster, which killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage. "It basically guarantees it's going to happen," said Ned Field, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena and lead author of the report. California is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt. The analysis is the first comprehensive effort by the USGS, Southern California Earthquake Center and California Geological Survey to calculate earthquake probabilities for the entire state using newly available data. Previous quake probabilities focused on specific regions and used various methodologies that made it difficult to compare. For example, a 2003 report found the San Francisco Bay Area faced a 62 percent chance of being struck by a magnitude 6.7 quake by 2032. The new study increased the likelihood slightly to 63 percent by 2037. For the Los Angeles Basin, the probability is higher at 67 percent. There is no past comparison for the Los Angeles area. Scientists still cannot predict exactly where in the state such a quake will occur or when. But they say the analysis should be a wake-up call for residents to prepare for a natural disaster in earthquake country. Knowing the likelihood of a strong earthquake is the first step in allowing scientists to draw up hazard maps that show the severity of ground shaking to an area. The information can also help with updating building codes and emergency plans and setting earthquake insurance rates. "A big earthquake can happen tomorrow or it can happen 10 years from now," said Tom Jordan, director of SCEC headquartered at the University of Southern California, who was part of the research. Of all the faults in the state, the southern San Andreas, which runs from Parkfield to the Salton Sea, appears most primed to break, scientists found. There is a 59 percent chance in the next three decades that a Northridge-size quake will occur on the fault compared to 21 percent for the northern section. The northern San Andreas produced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a recent disaster in geologic time compared to the southernmost segment, which has not popped in more than three centuries. Scientists are also concerned about the Hayward and San Jacinto faults, which have a 31 percent chance of producing a Northridge-size temblor in the next 30 years. The Hayward fault runs through densely populated cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Jacinto fault bisects the fast-growing city of San Bernardino.
Weak. You have at least 48 hours of warning to leave in the case of a hurricane... Meanwhile, you're sleeping and the ground decides to eat you... that's much worse.
But to continue with the subject of earthquakes... Geologists are pretty accurate. I remember a Stanford scientist predicted that after the tsunami disaster a couple of years ago there would be after-shocks. Sure enough, there were. Makes me wonder how much damage a quake like this would do to a city like San Francisco... With all the new "earthquake" proof skyscrapers, it wont be like this will it?
I'm more afraid of hurricanes and floods than earthquakes. My most favorite kind of natural disaster would have to be blizzard.
Well, I've live along the Gulf Coast for 95% of my life and I've never actually been affected by a hurricane. There's a possibility of me moving to San Diego within the next year or two and I would crap my pants if and earthquake hit while I was there.
Haven't been in a big one, have ya? Thing about hurricanes and floods; they rarely sneak up on you...
6.7 isn't all that bad......depending on the exact location and depth in the earth's crust of course....northridge was a 7.4... i would think istanbul and napoli are at far greater risk for catastrophe
Ah, what's a modern reporter to do? 6 and 9 look so much alike! LOL. Still going to happen of course, but it's pathetic that the AP can print something that embarrassingly amateur.
Texas has a few fault lines as well, although not as 'active' as some in California. In all honesty, it's difficult to predict earthquakes. Earthquakes have caught entire nations by surprise in many parts of the world, where few thought they would be a threat.
beat me to it!!! the mayans are laughing at these geologists. it's very quiet laughter. no, seriously...they're laughing.
i've been in an Earthquke in SoCal before when i was stationed in Camp Pendleton...i think it was 1999...the **** rattled our A-Frame at like 1AM...luckily it hit while we were out in the desert so no one got injured...our PX (military store) was trashed, our weights fell all over the place in the gym and our computers fell from their desks... then, 2 weeks later we got hit by a dust storm... good ol 29 Palms...
It's not a mistake. Chance of earthquake in the overall Southern California is 97%, and chance of it happening in Los Angeles itself is 67%. Same goes for NorCal - San Fran.
Just think of all the mo-fos who are going to be saying "I told you so" when it does happen. Or, they will be whispering it to themselves. I love when we get these BS quotes like "It could happen tomorrow or ten years from now". Oh...really...so I should make plans to move today or the day before ten years from now to avoid it? Why don't you just say "I may go to the bathroom in five minutes...or an hour from now". We will prepare the air freshner, moron.
yeah earthquakes are a weird sensation i am usually on pins after one for a day or two, but i dont think earthquakes will be the reason i move, its probably the property prices
