EarthquakesFriday L.A. tremor harbinger of quake worse than the Big One
Seismologists warn that a bigger earthquake along the Puente Hills fault, which produced the 5.1 magnitude tremor in Los Angeles last Friday, could cause more damage to the region than the anticipated “Big One” from the San Andreas Fault located on the outskirts of metropolitan Southern California. A 7.5-magnitude earthquake along the Puente Hills fault could kill 3,000 to 18,000 people and cause up to $250 billion in damages, leaving up to 750,000 people homeless. In contrast, an 8-magnitude earthquake along the San Andreas Fault would result in about 1,800 deaths.
Seismologists expect the worst is yet to come // Source: albawabhnews.com
Seismologists warn that a bigger earthquake along the Puente Hills fault, which produced the 5.1 magnitude tremor in Los Angeles last Friday, could cause more damage to the region than the anticipated “Big One” from the San Andreas Fault located on the outskirts of metropolitan Southern California. Last Friday’s moderated earthquake, centered in La Habra, was followed by more than 100 aftershocks by Sunday, spanning from northern Orange County to Hollywood.
The Guardian reports that a 7.5-magnitude earthquake along the Puente Hills fault could kill 3,000 to 18,000 people and cause up to $250 billion in damages, leaving up to 750,000 people homeless. In contrast, an 8-magnitude earthquake along the San Andreas Fault would result in about 1,800 deaths.
The Puente Hills fault runs near many vulnerable buildings made of concrete, in downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood — both highly populated areas. Additionally, the fault’s horizontal shape means that intense vibrations are likely to be felt over a wider area, roughly twenty-five by fifteen miles. The Los Angeles Times reports that other local faults like the Newport-Inglewood and Hollywood, are a collection of vertical cracks, with most intense shaking occurring near where the fault reaches the surface.
A 7.5 earthquake in the center of Los Angeles could potentially lift heavy objects in the air, similar to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California, in which United States Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said she found “an upside-down grand piano.”
“That’s the type of shaking that will hit all of downtown. And everywhere from La Habra to Hollywood,” Jones added
Friday’s earthquake, followed by aftershocks, has led firefighters to classify several buildings as unsafe to enter, forcing about seventy residents out of their homes. Fire crews in Fullerton red-tagged twenty apartment units after finding a foundation crack. Some homes in the area had broken chimneys and collapsed fireplaces. Brea City Hall experienced a water-main break which flooded several floors.
Scientists believe that the Puente Hills fault, discovered in 1999, has a major earthquake every 2,500 years, but when the last earthquake occurred is unknown. See this video simulations of a rupture on the Puente Hills fault system, showing how energy from an earthquake could erupt and be funneled toward L.A.’s densest neighborhoods.
