Warning issued for major fault lines in ‘Sink’ that could trigger massive earthquakes

KANIKA SINGH RATHORE,

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is the west coast years of delay For next big earthquake,

When a massive earthquake finally strikes, seismologists expect tall buildings and other buildings to collapse, massive fires that could burn hundreds of homes, Los Angeles highways to buckle and potentially a tsunami that could prevent any rescue teams from reaching thousands of people in danger.

But, as it turns out, “that’s not the worst-case scenario,” said Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University. statement,

Goldfinger and a group of international researchers have found a link between two major West Coast faults that they say could cause twice the disaster.

They reported that the Hollywood-specialized San Andreas Fault and the Pacific Northwest Cascadia Subduction Zone may be converging, with potentially devastating consequences for residents of California, Oregon, Washington state and western Canada.

Two scary faults on the West Coast are linked, researchers said this week. This could mean that the devastating impact will be doubled when the next big shock hits.

Two scary faults on the West Coast are linked, researchers said this week. This could mean that the devastating impact will be doubled when the next big shock hits. ,getty,

“We can expect that an earthquake on a single fault alone will reduce the entire country’s resources to respond to it,” Goldfinger said. “And if those two went together, you’d potentially get San Francisco. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are all in a state of emergency in a limited time frame.”

Overall, the four cities are home to approximately 3 million people, although there are many who live in coastal areas outside the major metropolises.

When this all might end remains a question – until it does. often, there may only be 200 years Between earthquakes on these faults.

A map showing the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadia Subduction Zone on the West Coast

A map showing the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadia Subduction Zone on the West Coast ,nps,

The last major earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone occurred in 1700, when 9.0 magnitude earthquake Pacific waves rise up to 30 feet high Which influenced Japan. According to Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the chance of a similar earthquake in the coming decades is one in eight.

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The incident was followed by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake on the northern San Andreas Fault, researchers said.

“This suggests that the San Andreas earthquake occurred at a very close time to the Cascadia earthquake,” said Jason Patton, an engineering geologist at the California Geological Survey who also worked on it. Researchtold Los Angeles Times,

Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University, is seen with one of its sediment cores. Core reveals connection between faults

Chris Goldfinger, a marine geologist at Oregon State University, is seen with one of its sediment cores. Core reveals connection between faults ,Shawn Nealon/Oregon State University,

According to Goldfinger, the cracks could have occurred at intervals of only a few minutes or hours.

And they discovered all this largely by accident. While drilling sediment cores deep into the ocean floor in the Cascadia Subduction Zone in 1999, a navigational error sent Goldfinger and the research team off course and into the San Andreas Zone. So, they decided to drill a core there as well.

Comparing the composition of cores from both fault systems revealed similarities in timing and structure over 3,100 years, resulting in them being linked to seismic effects.

Goldfinger and the researchers hope their findings will help West Coast leaders better prepare for whatever the future holds.

“Our level of preparation is poor,” Goldfinger said. Guardian“We still have a long way to go, and all these areas were built on top of ticking bombs.”

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