Experts Warn Even More-Damaging Quake Could Hit Area in the Future

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven

Los Angeles residents recount the Oct. 1 earthquake, describing terrifying moments as buildings shuddered, bricks and paneling fell, and fires erupted after ruptured gas lines. The quake, measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, caused deaths and severe damage, especially in Whittier. Seismologists explain earthquakes through plate tectonics, note ongoing pressure along major faults like the San Andreas, and emphasize that deadly quakes can strike elsewhere in the U.S. without warning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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Experts Warn Even More-Damaging Quake Could Hit Area in the Future

What Causes Earthquakes?

Not Just California

Preparing for the Worst

Oficials in Los Angeles look over the rubble from the Oct.1 quake. # Experts Warn Even MoreDamaging Quake CouldHit Area in the Future Carlos Dorame of Los Angeles willremember the morning of Oct.1 for along time.It was 7:45 a.m.He and hiswife were still in bed.Their three-year-old daughter was sleeping in the sameroom.Suddenly it seemed as if somegiant hand were violently shaking theirbed,then the whole house. “We were terrified,"says Carlos."Wegot up and ran and tried to pick up thebaby.But we kept falling down.Thepaneling and the bricks started falling onthe baby,and we had to pull her out.” The family joined hundreds of otherfrightened people in the street. It wasn't long before everyone heardthe frightening word:earthquake!TheLos Angeles area was hit with its most.severe quake since 1971 when 65 peoplewere killed. The Oct.1 quake lasted only tenseconds.But that was enough time to do great damage.Six people died.Down-town Los Angeles was the scene of fall-ing glass and brick.Hundreds of firesbroke out from ruptured gas lines. The damage appeared most severe inWhittier,the suburb of Los Angelesclosest to the epicenter of the quake.Eightto ten buildings collapsed.In older sec-tions of Whittier,porches collapsed,chimneys toppled,and residents sat out-side on chairs,afraid to go inside. For years,seismologists (scientists whostudy earthquakes)have warned peoplein California that the area was due for amajor earthquake,but this wasn't the one.The quake measured 6.1 on the Richterscale*,which makes it an earthquakecapable of causing great damage,but notthe“Big One”that has been predicted. The Hichter seale measures the powerofanearthquako.Each higher number rep-resonts aton-fold inerensein power.Anoerthquake registoring,foroxamplo,le10 times moro powerful than one that reglster 7;100 tmes more poworul thana 6,and 1,000 times moro powerful thana 5.Amajor quake一one capablo of eausingwidesproad demege and groat loss of li一a one thatregisters7or higher on theRichter scale. NPWwond # What Causes Earthquakes? Some primitive peoples believed thatearthquakes were caused by“monstersin the earth.”The ancient Greek philos-opher Pythagoras attributed quakes tounderground battles among the dead.Today,scientists explain earthquakesthis way: Earth's crust is made up of giant piecesof material called plates.These platescover Earth like poorly fitting jigsawpieces,meeting along division lines calledfaults.The plates slowly and constantlygrind and push against each other alongthe faults,creating immense pressures.When this pressure is high enough,therocks along the fault crumple and breakduring a massive release of energy knownas an earthquake. The Oct.1 earthquake in southernCalifornia took place along a minor faultcalled the Whittier Fault.But seismolo-gists say the pressure continues to buildup along the huge 700-mile-long SanAndreas Fault that runs nearly the lengthof California.Terry Sieh,a Californiaseismologist,says it is "virtually cer-tain”that California will suffer a major earthquake in the next 50 years.He pre-dicts that it will strike somewhere betweenSan Francisco and Los Angeles. ## Not Just California While seismologists can now predictthe probability of an earthquake's hap-pening by measuring pressure along afault,they are far from being able to pre-dict precisely where or when one will oc-cur.Earthquakes can strike at any time,without warning,and with deadly re-sults.Though people living along the SanAndreas Fault are at greater risk than anyother Americans,there are many peoplein other places in the U.S.who are at riskof being in serious earthquakes.TheNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)says that,forexample,Boston,Charleston,S.C.,andSalt Lake city,all lie within high-riskearthquake zones.(See map on page 4.) In fact,the most severe earthquake everto hit the U.S.occurred not in Califor-nia,but near the small town of NewMadrid,Missouri,in 1811. Eyewitnesses to this massive q

FAQs

How severe was the Oct. 1 quake and what impacts did it cause?

The quake measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. It lasted only seconds but caused great damage, including deaths, falling glass and brick, and fires from ruptured gas lines.

What do scientists say causes earthquakes?

Earth’s crust consists of large plate pieces that grind and push against each other along faults. When pressure becomes high enough, rocks along a fault break and release energy as an earthquake.

Why can serious earthquakes happen beyond California?

Seismologists can estimate the probability of earthquakes by measuring pressure along faults, but they cannot predict exactly where or when they occur. The document notes high-risk zones in other U.S. locations, and cites a major earthquake near New Madrid, Missouri in 1811.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven