As a result, a magnitude-7.5 earthquake on this fault could kill 3,000 to 18,000 people and cause as much as $250 billion in damage, says the US Geological Survey (USGS).īy comparison, estimates are that an even larger magnitude 8 quake along the San Andreas, further north and west in more rural areas, would cause 1,800 deaths. What’s worse, the softer soil in the Los Angeles Basin would enhance a quake’s ripple effect like a stone in water. ![]() The fault line runs under thousands of older buildings, many made with concrete and never properly retrofitted. The fault, discovered in 1999, runs from the suburbs of northern Orange County through the San Gabriel Valley under downtown and ends in Hollywood. This other fault, called the “Puente Hills thrust fault,” could do more damage than the “Big One” even with a lower-magnitude quake, the seismologists say, because it is located under the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles and a population of 4 million people. Rather, what seems to be throwing residents and business owners more off balance than the shaking is this: Seismologists are saying that the little-known geological fault responsible for the quake could do more damage than the much feared – and celebrated – “Big One” that one day will be generated by the more famous San Andreas. ![]() It’s not so much the magnitude-5.1 earthquake – centered in nearby La Habra with well over 150 aftershocks over five days – that has residents here most rattled.
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