{"id":35223,"date":"2026-06-24T15:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/new-earthquake-study-finds-san-andreas-fault-is-primed-for-a-big-quake\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:16:05","slug":"new-earthquake-study-finds-san-andreas-fault-is-primed-for-a-big-quake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trendifyhubusa.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/new-earthquake-study-finds-san-andreas-fault-is-primed-for-a-big-quake\/","title":{"rendered":"New earthquake study finds San Andreas fault is primed for a big quake"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Study is a reminder to be prepared for a major earthquake<\/p>\n

A new study finds that a major earthquake in Southern California is more likely now than at any point in the last 1,000 years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

An earthquake<\/a> is overdue along Southern California\u2019s \u201ccritically stressed\u201d San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, according to a new study<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As stress builds on a fault over centuries, it builds pressure that has to be released in an earthquake. In the study, scientists found that the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults are under more stress than at any point in the last 1,000 years, meaning that a massive earthquake could be on the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s been quite a long time since the Southern San Andreas or the San Jacinto have had a large earthquake, we\u2019ve accumulated a lot of stress,\u201d said Kate Scharer, a co-author of the study and a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.<\/p>\n

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Keep up with LAist.<\/h3>\n

If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. <\/p>\n\n<\/ps-form-ajax>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/ps-newsletter-module>\n<\/div>\n

The science behind the findings<\/h2>\n

Using geological evidence, including tree-ring records and sediment samples, a team of scientists created a computer model that shows how pressure accumulates along faults over time. Then they ran the model up to the present day to estimate how much stress is now building beneath our region. They found that pressure has been gradually building since the last Big One in 1857, one of California\u2019s largest seismic events on record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that all of those segments of the fault could have enough stress for an imminent future earthquake was already there,\u201d said Harold Tobin, the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and a professor at the University of Washington who was not involved in the study. \u201cThis [study] puts it on more of a quantitative, rigorous scientific basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

One area of interest is the Cajon Pass, the narrow corridor between the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.<\/p>\n

\u201cCajon Pass could act as an \u2018earthquake gate,\u2019 like a junction that either stops or transmits large ruptures between the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults depending on stress conditions,\u201d said Liliane Burkhard, the lead author of the study and a research affiliate in the Hawai\u02bbi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.<\/p>\n

The pass is a place where a major earthquake could jump from one fault system to another, Burkhard said. It could allow the rupture to spread farther across Southern California and affect millions more people across the Coachella Valley and San Bernardino County.<\/p>\n

Going forward, Burkhard hopes to study other earthquake-prone regions where several fault systems interact and create risks that remain difficult to predict.<\/p>\n

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How you can prepare for the Big One<\/h4>\n
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Preparation is your best defense for when the Big One hits.<\/p>\n

For the basics, your household should have an emergency kit with at least 72 hours of food, water and medications. If cellphone networks fail immediately after a big earthquake, you should also have a communication and reunification plan. Know your evacuation routes.<\/p>\n

Kate Scharer of the USGS recommends further resources from the Earthquake Country Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study was a great reminder that in Southern California, where we have parts of the most densely populated regions in the country, we are living on a multi-strand fault system,\u201d said Ahmed Elbanna of USC.<\/p>\n

Also: Listen to LAist\u2019s The Big One<\/i> podcast<\/a> to learn about the science of earthquakes and more about preparation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/ps-infobox-module>\n<\/div>\n

What’s next<\/h2>\n

Scientists agree that Southern California will experience another major earthquake. The challenge is that no one knows exactly when.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could happen today, tomorrow, or in 10 years, or in 30 years,\u201d said Ahmed Elbanna, director of the Statewide California Earthquake Center and a professor at USC who was not involved in the study. \u201cOn geological time scales, these are all very short.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a question of when, not if.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should certainly expect to experience large earthquakes in our lifetimes,\u201d Scharer said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n