Scientists are raising the alarm after a new study found the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults have reached their highest tectonic stress level in 1,000 years, causing concerns about an imminent large earthquake in Southern California.

Study Findings

The study, led by University of Hawaii at Mānoa Earth scientists, found that in some areas, tectonic stress has exceeded the highest levels observed in the past 1,000 years. The study points out that the faults have not produced a major earthquake in the Los Angeles area in over 100 years, and says that during that time, tectonic stress has continued to build.

Researchers say the findings highlight direct implications for seismic hazard assessments in one of the most densely populated and infrastructure-critical corridors in the U.S. The study suggests that the stress that would normally be released in large earthquakes has continued to accumulate and is now at unprecedented levels.

Implications

The university notes that the physics-based stress modeling done in the research project can help refine seismic hazard assessments and inform infrastructure planning, emergency preparedness, and building codes in the region. The study’s results suggest the stress that would normally be released in large earthquakes has continued to accumulate and is now at unprecedented levels.

Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.