Southern California’s section of the San Andreas fault is “locked, loaded and ready to roll,” a leading earthquake scientist said Wednesday at the National Earthquake Conference in Long Beach.
The San Andreas fault is one of California’s most dangerous, and is the state’s longest fault. Yet for Southern California, the last big earthquake to strike the southern San Andreas was in 1857, when a magnitude 7.9 earthquake ruptured an astonishing 185 miles between Monterey County and the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles.
It has been quiet since then — too quiet, said Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center.
“The springs on the San Andreas system have been wound very, very tight. And the southern San Andreas fault, in particular, looks like it’s locked, loaded and ready to go,” Jordan said in the opening keynote talk.
Other sections of the San Andreas fault also are far overdue for a big quake. Further southeast of the Cajon Pass, such as in San Bernardino County, the fault has not moved substantially since an earthquake in 1812, and further southeast toward the Salton Sea, it has been relatively quiet since about 1680 to 1690.
Here’s the problem: Scientists have observed that based on the movement of tectonic plates, with the Pacific plate moving northwest of the North American plate, earthquakes should be relieving about 16 feet of accumulated plate movement every 100 years. Yet the San Andreas has not relieved stress that has been building up for more than a century.
Jordan said it’s important that California focus on becoming resilient to a potential huge earthquake, one as strong as a magnitude 8. He praised Los Angeles’ plan to require earthquake retrofits on apartment and concrete buildings, pushed into law by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
A 2008 U.S. Geological Survey report warned that a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas fault would cause more than 1,800 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage and severe, long-lasting disruptions. Among the predicted problems: The sewer system could be out of commission for six months.
Such an earthquake could cause shaking for nearly two minutes, with the strongest shaking in the Coachella Valley, Inland Empire and Antelope Valley, but it also could send pockets of strong shaking into areas where sediments trap shaking waves, such as the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles.
Even though the San Andreas fault does not go directly into Los Angeles — it is 30 miles away from downtown — the city is expected to be heavily shaken by a large earthquake on that fault. For instance, simulations of a possible magnitude-7.8 San Andreas fault that begins at the Salton Sea and spreads west toward the San Gabriel mountains show seismic shaking waves "bent into the Los Angeles area," Jordan said. One video shows strong ground shaking stretching from northern San Diego County to Barstow.
"You can see that this area of influence by the shaking has now expanded out to huge proportions," Jordan said. "You see that big directivity pulse out in front, as that energy is being shoved down that fault, that directivity pulse leads energy into seismic waves that excite the sedimentary basins, like the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles basin," and through San Bernardino, Jordan said.
"You'll notice large shaking in the Los Angeles region persisting for long periods of time," Jordan said.
(Perry Stone) Early this morning I saw another detailed tsunami dream that was so vivid and detailed that it disturbed me greatly. On the West Coast, a major split occurred in the ocean causing the Pacific’s waves to rise high in all directions. I saw dangerous waves coming in the distance and yelled, “Get to the mountains!”
As we began rushing to a high place I could see the waves hit the coasts and rush violently into the streets of cities. The scene shifted and I found myself in a house on a high mountain. The people were quite wealthy and there were reports on the news of the horrific damage and destruction. I can still see the waves in my minds eye.
This is the second West Coast dream of a tsunami I have seen. I often hesitate even sharing this on Facebook as the response is often so verbally critical and negative, reminding me of the same reaction Jeremiah received when warning the Jews of the Babylonia invasion, and one feels it is best left unsaid. However, the Lord also said that if the watchman sees the coming danger and does not sound an alarm, He will hold the watchman accountable for his silence.
Prayer and preparation are two major resources and I also suggest hearing from the Lord on an individual level to determine His will and direction for each person. In any dream or vision I never hear or see a date, indicating the timing of these events. They could be near or far away. However, I believe numerous individuals are seeing the same. If you have experienced a dream of a tsunami, please post and let’s see if there are parallels with the individual dreams of others. Believer’s are sensing an urgency to pray.
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