A striking new study on earthquake risk has been published for Southern California, one of the most densely populated regions of the United States.
Researchers report that the tectonic stress accumulating on the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems has reached its highest levels in the past 1,000 years and, in some segments, may already exceed those levels.
While the study suggests the region may have the potential to generate a large and devastating earthquake in the future, it also stresses that the findings are crucial for reassessing earthquake hazards.
Study examines 1,000 years of earthquake history
The research was led by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, and the findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
