A potent threat of major earthquake off California's northern coast

latimes.com ^ | March 12, 2014 | Rong-Gong Lin II and Rosanna Xia

[John W]

If a 9.0 earthquake were to strike along California's sparsely populated North Coast, it would have a catastrophic ripple effect.

A giant tsunami created by the quake would wash away coastal towns, destroy U.S. 101 and cause $70 billion in damage over a large swath of the Pacific coast. More than 100 bridges would be lost, power lines toppled and coastal towns isolated. Residents would have as few as 15 minutes notice to flee to higher ground, and as many as 10,000 would perish.

For years, scientists believed the largest earthquake the area could produce was magnitude 7.5. But scientists now say the Cascadia subduction zone was the site of a magnitude 9 earthquake more than 300 years ago.

[P-Marlowe]

As long as it washes San Francisco into the bay, it will be worth the cost.

[Vendome]

Oh well. Not like we don’t know the risk of living here.

Better than the annual duck and cover for basements or under a mattress in the bathrooms of Oklahoma...

Still, I wonder these days about my decision to move back to California.

Haven’t fished in years and not sure where I’d find a good spot anyway.,..

[Navy Patriot]

Actually, I was looking forward to an earthquake off California that would subside the Pacific Plate about 400 feet.

Just for the LA Times.

[Michael.SF.]

Somehow this came to mind

[DCBryan1]

If we could rid San fagsicko, Berkeley, and Oakland from the earth, we’d have a national holiday!

[JimSEA]

If you want to see signs of the last Cascadia earthquake, drive up the Coos River, east of Coos Bay, OR and you can see where large rocks and other derbies were pushed up the hillsides. That was one nasty tsunami.

[Navy Patriot]

Haven’t fished in years and not sure where I’d find a good spot anyway.,

Don't look sideways at a whale, or they'll arrest ya.

[bigbob]

Actually if it could skip the top half of the state, wipe out the queers and most of SF without totally trashing Silicon Valley, and then skip down the coast and get Hollyweird, that would be about optimal.

[TEXOKIE]

bttt

[TEXOKIE]

ping

[Forward the Light Brigade]

I predict the “Big One” will hit off the coast of Santa Barbara and cause damage into LA Country, wreck freeways and take out thousands—June or July is as close as I can get with my crystal ball.

[Navy Patriot]

Just as long as ya need a glass bottom boat to read the LA Times....

[Vendome]

Ain’t it true...

[John W]

What year?

[windcliff]

They would blame it on global warming.

[eyeamok]

Is there anyway we could help this happen??

[Safrguns]

>>> Better than the annual duck and cover for basements or under a mattress in the bathrooms of Oklahoma...

I like my odds better here in OK.

[Patriot Babe]

I agree. I feel the same. Southern California will get hit first with the Big One before Northern California does.

[ApplegateRanch]

Is that a +/- 6 months prediction?