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Fault on the California coast could cause a devastating earthquake

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  • Is the Palos Verdes fault more dangerous than the San Andreas?
  • It could cause devastating earthquake in California.
  • Populated areas of Los Angeles would be at risk.

THE THREAT IS DOUBLE! For years there has been talk of the energy stored in the San Andreas fault that could be released causing a deadly earthquake. Now scientists reveal that the Palos Verdes fault could cause an equally devastating earthquake in California.

The truth is that a network of faults 70 miles long, just under the city of Los Angeles, could cause an earthquake up to four times more powerful than previously estimated, according to a recent study published by Harvard University.

Palos Verdes fault could cause a devastating earthquake

San Andreas fault devastating earthquake
The community helps people trapped in collapsed buildings after the 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City in September 2017. Photo: Shutterstock

This system of tectonic faults that runs about 70 miles along the coast of Los Angeles and Orange counties, in California is known as Palos Verdes. While it was already known, until now researchers haven’t really managed to estimate how dangerous it could be.

According to a study conducted by scientists at Harvard University, a movement of the Palos Verdes Fault could generate an earthquake so strong that it could reach magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Dangerous set of faults

San Andreas fault devastating earthquake
Photo: Shutterstock

Scientists already knew about the Palos Verdes fault conglomerate but the new study reveals that it is a single tectonic structure, so all those fractures that go from Santa Monica Bay to the waters of Dana Point would be connected to each other.

This discovery led experts to rethink their calculations and, until now, it was feared that these faults could cause an earthquake of magnitude 7.4, but the investigation has led to alert about a possible earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale. It looks like an insignificant differences, but it actually means that it could be four times as intense.

What area would be affected by this earthquake?

Earthquake leaves 26 deaths
Photo: Getty Images

An earthquake caused by the Palos Verdes fault is comparable to the threat of the San Andreas fault, not only due to the intensity, but also due to the fact that it could shake up really populated neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area and millions would be at risk. The devastation could be enormous.

“Historically it has been seen as segmented into many small pieces, it looked like it wasn’t going to break in a big earthquake» John H. Shaw, professor of structural geology at Harvard and co-author of the study explained to L.A. Times. The problem is that the earthquake could be more intense than previously thought.

Multiple aftershocks

Photo: archive

In the case of an earthquake on this fault, one of the great risks is multiple aftershocks. «Instead of a line on the map, we could see a rupture that could occur in a wide area,» explained the expert, adding that after a strong earthquake, aftershocks would be like dominoes.

The Palos Verdes fault also moves much faster than other fractures in that area. In the case of the San Andreas fault, seismologists estimate that it is capable of producing an intense magnitude 8.2 earthquake.

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