Earthquake season in Cali?

[Anonymous]

I’m in LA and have only felt 3 earthquakes in my entire life. Two were this weekend. The one tonight was the worst.

[Anonymous]

California is going to break off and float away one day due to an earthquake. At least that’s the one and only conspiracy theory my DH thinks and has thought forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This last one, just a few minutes ago, lasted forever - but not strong on the west side of LA.

The little ones are good for us. Relieves the pressure.

Or serve as a warning for larger quakes coming. People keep referring to them as 'aftershocks' but you have to have had a major earthquake for them to be following behind...

I thought of that yesterday - that yesterday’s was a foreshock and something bigger was coming. Thought the same today. They know ‘the big one’ is coming eventually. It’s just a matter of time.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Coastal Orange County, 150 miles away from the epicenter - and boy did we feel it. What's even stranger was how we felt physically, afterwards. Nauseous, sea sick/dizzy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:California is going to break off and float away one day due to an earthquake. At least that’s the one and only conspiracy theory my DH thinks and has thought forever.

Rocks don't float. It will sink beneath the waves like Atlantis.

[Anonymous]

There’s no season for earthquakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s no season for earthquakes.

Actually groundwater levels can be a big factor in quakes.

[Anonymous]

I am a seismologist. 1) there is no such thing as earthquake season or earthquake weather. 2) For any earthquake, statistically, the aftershock sequence has about a 1/10 chance of having an event larger than the "main shock". In that case, the "main shock" is considered a foreshock. It is just nomenclature.

The quoted article which interviews Lucy Jones incorrectly refers to her as one of the worlds leading seismologist. She is the best at relaying the hazards to the public, which is critical, but as a researcher, she is not among the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no season for earthquakes.

Actually groundwater levels can be a big factor in quakes.

Seismologist here. Ground water can be a factor, but not always.

[Anonymous]

Uh-oh, we don't have a consensus of seismologists. Need more to weigh in.

Also. I keep reading that the Cascadia Fault is the one to worry about. Based on Japanese records prior to Europeans arriving on the Northwest coast of the US, and Native American oral traditions that were dismissed for centuries, that's one to really worry about. And the Oregon legislature just voted to, I believe, end a ban on certain kinds of contruction (schools, jails, hospitals, nursing homes) in the tsunami zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a seismologist. 1) there is no such thing as earthquake season or earthquake weather. 2) For any earthquake, statistically, the aftershock sequence has about a 1/10 chance of having an event larger than the "main shock". In that case, the "main shock" is considered a foreshock. It is just nomenclature.

The quoted article which interviews Lucy Jones incorrectly refers to her as one of the worlds leading seismologist. She is the best at relaying the hazards to the public, which is critical, but as a researcher, she is not among the best.

So you disagree with her thesis that the LA area is due for a M8+ on a 100-200 year cycle? And we're due for one now?

Because the last one in California (a 8.7) happened in 1700?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a seismologist. 1) there is no such thing as earthquake season or earthquake weather. 2) For any earthquake, statistically, the aftershock sequence has about a 1/10 chance of having an event larger than the "main shock". In that case, the "main shock" is considered a foreshock. It is just nomenclature.

The quoted article which interviews Lucy Jones incorrectly refers to her as one of the worlds leading seismologist. She is the best at relaying the hazards to the public, which is critical, but as a researcher, she is not among the best.

So you disagree with her thesis that the LA area is due for a M8+ on a 100-200 year cycle? And we're due for one now?

Because the last one in California (a 8.7) happened in 1700?

The last major rupture on the San Andreas fault was in 1857 -- the Fort Tejon earthquake. The 1700 earthquake was the last Cascadia earthquake (Eureka to Seattle).

Lucy is accurately assessing the hazard. Though I might say 200-300 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a seismologist. 1) there is no such thing as earthquake season or earthquake weather. 2) For any earthquake, statistically, the aftershock sequence has about a 1/10 chance of having an event larger than the "main shock". In that case, the "main shock" is considered a foreshock. It is just nomenclature.

The quoted article which interviews Lucy Jones incorrectly refers to her as one of the worlds leading seismologist. She is the best at relaying the hazards to the public, which is critical, but as a researcher, she is not among the best.

So you disagree with her thesis that the LA area is due for a M8+ on a 100-200 year cycle? And we're due for one now?

Because the last one in California (a 8.7) happened in 1700?

The last major rupture on the San Andreas fault was in 1857 -- the Fort Tejon earthquake. The 1700 earthquake was the last Cascadia earthquake (Eureka to Seattle).

Lucy is accurately assessing the hazard. Though I might say 200-300 years.

I should add that these numbers assume the only fault capable of generating a M>8 earthquake is the Plate Boundary fault aka the San Andreas. That may or may not be accurate.

[Anonymous]

The New Madrid and Charleston earthquakes were on plate boundaries and they were VERY strong.

[Anonymous]

*weren’t* on plate boundaries. Stupid autocorrect