Earthquake predictions by Claudia Sonea

Finally the joint institutes, the Southern California Earthquake Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the California Geological Survey, made public their study on the upcoming earthquakes that are most likely to hit California. The study received the support of California Earthquake Authority which handles earthquake insurance rates statewide. According to the three year study revealed on Monday, there is a 99.7 percent chance for a 6.7 quake to take place in 2037 and there is a 97 percent chance for it to hit Southern California and only 93 percent to hit. No matter which part will be affected Ned Field, a geophysicist lead author of the study, assured that it will happen. As one of the most seismically active regions California faced 300 faults crisscross the state with 10,000 quakes each year, but fortunately enough they are not big enough to be felt. In fact the placement atop the Pacific and North American tectonic plates generates all this misfortune. For instance, in 1994 an earthquake that hit Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley caused 72 deaths, 9000 people injured and $25 billion in damage. It is not for the first time such a disaster is announced to take place, as in 2003 a report concluded that San Francisco Bay Area has a 62 percent chance to face a quake of 6.7 by 2032, while this study increases the chances to 63 percent by 2037 and to 67 percent when it comes to the Los Angeles Basin. Nevertheless, this study can offer important information for the drawing of hazard maps, updating building codes and emergency plans or to establish earthquake insurance rates. In spite of the fact that scientists cannot predict with a 100 percent accuracy the date of an earthquake or its location, they can offer an insight perspective and a warning for future preparation of residents; especially for those situated in the areas near Elsinore and San Jacinto Faults in southern California, the offshore 750-mile-long Cascadia Subduction Zone.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080414/ap_on_hi_te/cuba_cell_phones;_ylt=Ai3NvJhgJBaUPuVS7_Vn01as0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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Edited by: Maria Zitnanska