&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Scientists now know the EXACT year Big One, a devastating earthquake, will hit California. It can happen as soon as...")
California is staring at the "Big One", and it could occur in the next seven years, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has warned. The Bay Area could be hit by a massive earthquake in 2032. That's not all. Northern California could witness several "magnitude 6.7 or larger" earthquakes in the next 30 years.
"The threat of earthquakes extends across the entire San Francisco Bay region, and a major quake is likely before 2032," according to a report by the USGS.
California sits on the San Andreas Fault, an 800-mile-long fault line. Experts say that the fault causes a major quake every 150 years.
The California earthquake of 1857
Sarah Minson from the USGS says that California is overdue for a magnitude 7.8 quake, or even higher. In 1857, a 7.9 magnitude quake known as the Fort Tejon earthquake occurred in central and Southern California. 350 km of the southern part of the San Andreas Fault was ruptured in the event.
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The California earthquake of 1906
Another huge one struck San Francisco in 1906, and also had a magnitude of 7.9, according to the California Academy of Sciences. It flattened 80 per cent of San Francisco, killed nearly 3,000 people and left more than 200,000 people homeless. A whopping 477 km of the San Andreas Fault was ruptured in the process.
Also Read: Submarine volcano near Oregon can erupt any time. Can it be as terrible as the Tonga explosion?
Minson warns that the chances the "Big One" would strike San Francisco by 2055 have risen to a staggering 72 per cent. Minson's calculations give the Bay Area a window of 30 years. But USGS think it could happen as soon as in the next seven years.
Seven earthquakes hit California near San Andreas Fault
Fears that a big one is near have increased after the region reported several back-to-back quakes on Monday morning, near the northern tip of theSan Andreas Fault. According to USGS, seven earthquakes struck the Pacific justoff the coast of Northern California between 1:54 am and 7:01 am ET. Five of them struck between 4:17 am and 4:38 am.
According to estimates, if and when the next Big One hits California, it will kill approximately 1,800 people, cause 50,000 injuries and $200 billion in damages.
