Chance of mega-quake hitting California increases <br /> <br />The southern San Andreas is "ready to have an earthquake because it's really locked and loaded," U.S.G.S scientists say <br />http://phys.org/news/2015-03-strong-q... <br /> <br />The report found there is a 19 percent chance in the next 30 years that a Northridge-size quake will unzip the southern section compared to a 6.4 percent chance for the northern section, partly because it last broke in 1906. <br /> <br />Scientists are virtually certain that California will be rocked by a strong earthquake in the next 30 years. Now they say the risk of a mega-quake is more likely than previously thought <br /> <br />The chance of a magnitude-8 quake striking the state in the next three decades jumped to 7 percent from 4.7 percent, mainly because scientists took into account the possibility that several faults can shake at once, releasing seismic energy that results in greater destruction. <br /> <br />While the risk of a mega-quake is higher than past estimates, it's more likely—greater than 99 percent chance—that California will be rattled by a magnitude-6.7 jolt similar in size to the 1994 Northridge disaster. <br /> <br />The chance of a Northridge-size quake was slightly higher in Northern California than Southern California—95 percent versus 93 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. <br />"California is earthquake country, and residents should live every day like it could be the day of a big one," USGS geophysicist and lead author Ned Field said. <br /> <br />Thousands of quakes every year hit California, sandwiched between two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. Most are too small to be felt <br /> <br />The new report included newly discovered fault zones and the possibility that a quake can jump from fault to fault. Because of this knowledge, the odds of a catastrophic quake—magnitude 8 or larger—in the next 30 years increased. <br /> <br />Of the more than 300 faults that crisscross the state, the southern segment of the San Andreas Fault—which runs from central California to the Salton Sea near the U.S.-Mexico border—remains the greatest threat because it hasn't ruptured in more than three centuries. <br /> <br />physorg,com - Article by Alicia Chang <br />Read mare here: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-strong-q... <br /> <br />Music credit: Mark Fowler YouTube channel <br />https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCWT... <br />Transformers The Movie - Piano Suite <br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx86Y...
