‘The Big One’ earthquake could actually unfold in two stages, say researchers | US | News
A recent study shows that simultaneous rupture occurs. two major fault systems The West Coast of North America may pose a seismic threat that exceeds the long-feared “Big One.”
Now scientists warn: CaliforniaThe famous earthquake of the ‘Big One’ may actually be a double whammy.
Researchers found it interesting evidence of tremor One eruption along the infamous Cascadia Subduction Zone could trigger another along the San Andreas Fault. These back-to-back earthquakes could occur just minutes apart, weakening emergency response services and spelling disaster for millions of people, according to a study by Geosphere.
Marine geologist Chris Goldfinger of Oregon State University, along with a team of international researchers, discovered a connection between two major West Coast faults and suggested it could trigger a doubling of the destruction.
“We can expect an earthquake just on one of the faults to deplete the entire country’s resources to respond to it,” Goldfinger said. he said. “And if the two started together, then you potentially have San Francisco. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver in an emergency situation in a compressed time frame.”
However, there is about a one in eight chance that an earthquake similar to the last major quake, which occurred in the Cascadia Subduction Zone in 1700, when a magnitude 9.0 quake triggered 100-foot-high Pacific waves, will occur in the coming decades, according to the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
Researchers revealed that the event in Japan was followed by a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the northern San Andreas fault.
Such a massive earthquake could potentially wreak havoc and cause catastrophic damage. Seismologists predict the collapse of tall buildings and other structures, massive fires that could burn hundreds of homes, the collapse of Los Angeles freeways and even the possibility of a tsunami.
Goldfinger and his team hope their findings will help West Coast leaders be better prepared for whatever the future holds.
“Our level of preparedness is poor,” Goldfinger told The Guardian. “We have a long way to go, and all these areas are built on ticking time bombs.”
