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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 25HEALTH & SCIENCEWestern Quakery
From L.A. to Seattle, the West Coast is even shakier than
expected
Relatively few people were jolted by the twin earthquakes
that struck the sparsely populated Southern California desert
last June. A lot more may be shaken, though, by a new report
from the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies. While the
Landers and Big Bear quakes (respectively 7.5 and 6.6 on the
Richter scale) did little damage, they evidently added stress to
the system of underground faults that honeycombs that part of the
state. As a result, chances of another big quake have
quadrupled, with nearly 1-in-2 odds that one will hit within
five years. And next time it could happen on the San Andreas
Fault, which runs close to Los Angeles and other population
centers.
Seattle can start worrying too. Five studies published in
Science describe a previously undiscovered fault there, along
with evidence that the area was rocked by one or more major
earthquakes within the past two millenniums. Alas, it's too
soon to predict when the next biggie will hit the Pacific
Northwest.