Tuesday, March 18, 2014

California Earthquakes: Alarm, or Relief?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A 4.4 mid-sized trembler hit Los Angeles, yesterday, and the media was all a-buzz. . . not because a 4.4 quake is worth talking about, but because any sizable earthquake in the Los Angeles area, which has been waiting for "THE BIG ONE" since I have been alive, is big news.

The mild quake was the largest to hit L.A. for a few years, and even more shocking is that it has had 11 aftershocks.  Most of the aftershocks have been under 2.0, with a few growing larger than that mark on the Richter Scale.  One of them was as large as 2.6, which means if you tried real hard, you might have been able to feel it.

Some speculated that the Monday shaker was a prelude to "THE BIG ONE," but by today, the likelihood of that being the case dropped from a 5% chance, to only 1%.  Granted, it was the largest quake ever recorded in that particular area beneath the Santa Monica Mountains, but in the end these little earthquakes are a good thing.  The theory is, constant smaller quakes stave off the larger ones, by releasing the tension under the plates.  According to the popular conception, no news is bad news, when it comes to earthquakes, because silence can be deadly.  A time period of "no earthquakes" could lead to the monster of a quake everyone knows Southern California is destined to experience.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

11 aftershocks hit Westside after Monday's 4.4 earthquake - Los Angeles Times

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