[americanophile]

[Fido969]

What, me worry?

[trapped_in_LA]

Never say never, we’ve had two over 8.5 earth quakes in the past few years, one in Indonesia and now one in Japan. There is no reason why California won’t have a big one over 8 as well.

[Roccus]

Earthquakes the size of the one that struck Japan on Friday are highly unlikely ever to hit the California coast,...

...until one does.

[TMSuchman]

About the time you say “it will never happen here” is just about the time it will happen. It is best to plan for the worst case scenieros, but hope for the best to happen.

[Berlin_Freeper]

An asteroid could cause a tsunami too.

[SumProVita]

There are unusual swarms of earthquakes taking place around the world....including a recent one in Poland for the first time in umteen years.

This took place today:

3.8 2011/03/13 15:16:21 32.954N 100.810W 5.0 34 km (21 mi) WNW of Rotan, TX

The area of New Madrid continues to show increased activity.

[oh8eleven]

No temblor greater than a magnitude 8 is ever likely in California, say scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey
Oh yeah, trust your life to the people who wear gov't IDs.

[archivist007]

Now that it has been said that it will never happen, it is going to happen.

Like someone said, never say never again.

[goseminoles]

Could be Oregon next. We can’t predict the future..

[Ezekiel]

No temblor greater than a magnitude 8 is ever likely in California, say scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.

Wisdom of science ping.

[GOPJ]

And what about the New Madrid?

[rlmorel]

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"

(Col. John Sedgwick, before being shot and killed by a Confederate sniper at the battle of Spotsylvania in 1864.)

[WestCoastGal]

Caltech team mulls worst-case scenario after next big earthquake

October 11, 2008

CAJON PASS – A magnitude-7.8 quake rips out of the Coachella Valley, heads west along the San Andreas Fault, severs power lines, cuts a hole in the 15 Freeway and knocks out rail tracks – leaving Southern California isolated from the rest of the West Coast.

http://westcoast911.com/wp/2008/10/11/caltech-team-mulls-worst-case-scenario-after-next-big-earthquake/

---

Here’s another one - also look up liquefaction maps.

http://sciencedude.ocregister.com/2008/01/14/san-andreas-quake-could-shake-oc-for-60-seconds/2205/

Bottom line is it doesn’t have to be a 9.0

[bigbob]

it could be worse...

[LibertarianLiz]

I'm sorry, but doesn't the "Ring of Fire" run down the West Coast of the United States; which I believe includes CA. And wasn't this gigantor quake which just hit Japan a product of that same "Ring of Fire"? Wouldn't that mean that CA is vulnerable to that same size quake? Just asking.

[trisham]

Right.

[hattend]

Me: “Mister Scientist, I have one question!”

MS: “Go ahead”

Me: “Where is the next big quake going to occur in California?”

MS: “I don’t know for sure”

Me: “Then how can you say that nothing bigger than 8.0 will ever occur in California?”

MS: Blank stare...

[beethovenfan]

$200 billion, eh? That’s Zero’s monthly deficit for February.

[Vision]

No temblor greater than a magnitude 8 is ever likely in California, say scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.

Menlo Park is in SF- this is wishful and dangerous thinking. But what do journalists care? Let's feel good and pretend California as special powers protecting it. The 1906 quake is estimated as an 8 btw.

[Dr. Sheldon Cooper]

Yeah, I'll trust the seismic advice of the paper whose political advice included endorsing Gavin Newsom.