A San Diego researcher says Southern California is on the verge of a major earthquake, that could devastate the Los Angeles basin. KPBS Reporter Erik Anderson has details.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Yuri Fialko has been studying the stresses building up along the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault. He says a review of 20 years worth of data shows there's been relatively little movement which would relieve pressure. Fialko says the southern part of the fault has been building up a store of elastic energy for 300 years.
Fialko: It amounts to a total displacement of six to eight meters. This is comparable to the largest offsets produced by the San Andreas fault in the previous two earthquakes. And what this means is the southern part of the fault is fully charged for the next big event.
Scientist say a magnitude eight earthquake could cause billions of dollars in damages in the Los Angeles area. The findings are published in the current issue of the journal
Nature
.
Erik Anderson KPBS News.
