'San Andreas', the Hollywood disaster movie directed by Brad Peyton that featured Dwayne Johnson in the lead role, portrayed the aftermath of a dreaded earthquake following a rupture in the San Andreas fault. Popularly called the 'Ring of Fire', the fault line is prone to earthquakes, and for many years, people in living in this area and several seismic experts have been expecting a megaquake that could cause unimaginable devastation in California.
Now, experts have confirmed that a megaquake capable of triggering catastrophe is long overdue, and it may hit the area anytime soon. Thomas Rockwell, in a recent interaction with KPBS News, revealed that it has been 380 years since the last strong earthquake happened. As per Rockwell, the average recurrent interval is about 180 years, and it indicates that a megaquake is overdue in San Andreas fault.
"I'm sure you have heard about the San Andreas fault is overdue for an earthquake, so from dating past earthquakes, we know that the average recurrent interval is about 180 years. It has now been 380 years since the last large earthquake, so this has led to the idea that maybe we are overdue an earthquake. In any case, it is very clear that the southern San Andreas is certainly ripe for a large earthquake, and the question is; why hasn't it happened?" said Thomas Rockwell, Express.co.uk reports.
It should be noted that another study report published in the journal Seismological Research Letters also shared similar concerns, and hinted the possibility of a powerful quake which may happen in the future.
Glenn Biasi, of the US Geological Survey and co-author of the study, warned that a major quake will happen in the area, and the only question remaining is when it will occur.
"We know these big faults have to carry most of the [tectonic] motion in California, and sooner or later they have to slip. The only questions are how they're going to let go and when," said Biasi.
In the meantime, Frank Hoogerbeets, a self-proclaimed earthquake researcher revealed that a rise in seismic activities is due to critical planetary alignments. As per Hoogerbeets, certain alignments of planets will destabilize the tectonic plates in the earth due to their gravitational tug, and it is causing seismic activities on the earth.
