Question Details

Earthquake Prediction: Is California Next?

Earthquake Prediction: Is California Next?

Asked by: Super Userkruijs in Science » Environment
Settled on 06/01/2011 12:33 Settled by Super Userkruijs
Winning option: no according reports

Predictions

Yes, before the end of May, a 6+M earthquake hits California
Yes, before the end of May, a 6+M earthquake hits California
No
No

Background

Is what happened in Japan set to repeat itself in California? Author Simon Winchester thinks so. In an article for Newsweek that’s turning some heads, Winchester notes that though scientists aren’t sure why, major earthquakes have a tendency to happen in clusters, with a quake on one side of a plate followed by one on the other some weeks or months later. “It is as though the earth becomes like a great brass bell,” he writes. Strike it in one place, and the vibrations carry.

After last month’s quake in New Zealand and last year’s quake in Chile, the Pacific plate has now seen catastrophic plates on three of its corners. The only corner left untouched: the northeast, meaning either the San Andreas fault or Cascadia fault—the latter of which would trigger a tsunami. Winchester repeated his warning on MSNBC today, in an interview spotted by Mediaite, saying that California “really isn’t taking this seriously enough.”

http://www.newser.com/story/114097/japan-earthquake-californias-the-next-big-one.html

Find similar: earthquake, california

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   kenneth1

Simon Winchester is a great writer, but despite his writing ability he is not a trained geophysicist.

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