Minor quakes no sign that San Diego's safe
Published: Sept. 11, 2007 at 9:25 PM
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Seismologists say the small earthquakes that have hit Southern California in the past 10 days have no effect on the chance of a major quake.
“If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said a 6.0 earthquake could hit today, or it might hit in 100 years,” Patrick Abbott of San Diego State University told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “My answer today would be the same.”
Five quakes occurred offshore and two around Lake Elsinore, 70 miles north. All were between magnitude 3.0 and 5.0 on the Richter scale, making them minor or light.
San Diego survived a quake estimated at 6.0 magnitude in 1862 and a 5.3 offshore quake in 1986.
But Graham Kent, a seismologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, said there are four faults that could produce a major 7.0 quake. They are Rose Canyon, which cuts through the city, Coronado Banks offshore, and the San Jacinto and San Andreas to the east.
Seismologists say that the southern part of the San Andreas, probably the world’s most famous fault line, has been quiet for 300 years and is overdue for a major quake.
“If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said a 6.0 earthquake could hit today, or it might hit in 100 years,” Patrick Abbott of San Diego State University told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “My answer today would be the same.”
Five quakes occurred offshore and two around Lake Elsinore, 70 miles north. All were between magnitude 3.0 and 5.0 on the Richter scale, making them minor or light.
San Diego survived a quake estimated at 6.0 magnitude in 1862 and a 5.3 offshore quake in 1986.
But Graham Kent, a seismologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, said there are four faults that could produce a major 7.0 quake. They are Rose Canyon, which cuts through the city, Coronado Banks offshore, and the San Jacinto and San Andreas to the east.
Seismologists say that the southern part of the San Andreas, probably the world’s most famous fault line, has been quiet for 300 years and is overdue for a major quake.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
In this image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, Cyclone Nargis is pictured when it was a Category one hurricane located 370 miles west of Yangon, Myanmar on May 1, 2008. Tropical Cyclone Nargis flooded the region on May 4, 2008. The death toll from the cyclone and its aftermath is feared to hit or exceed 100,000 lives. (UPI Photo/NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team)
NASA satellite images show Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
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