It’s like a scene from a Hollywood movie: A major earthquake along the San Andreas fault ripples through Los Angeles, decimating infrastructure, sparking fires and triggering landslides. For decades, scientists have been investigating when and how this disaster could unfold.
Now, researchers report that such a quake could be more widespread and damaging than previously thought. Their study found that southern portions of the San Andreas fault and parts of the adjacent San Jacinto fault line are locked and loaded to their highest stress levels in 1,000 years — increasing the probability of a significant earthquake. If a strong earthquake hits either fault zone, the researchers say the seismic rumbles could cascade into its neighbor through an “earthquake gate” and spread damage from north of Los Angeles through San Bernardino, Riverside and the Coachella Valley simultaneously.
“We talk loosely about faults being ‘overdue,’ but it’s important to see a physics-based estimate that the system is sitting at a 1,000-year high,” said Matthew Weingarten, a geologist at San Diego State University who was not involved in the study…