This concerns me since I am flying to Puerto Rico next week for my son's wedding. I'll be there for 10 days and I've read that Puerto Rico is due for a large earthquake. They had a 7.5M earthquake there in October 1918, which also caused a tsunami.

And then I read the following on wikipedia (search: earthquake prediction)-- I will be in Puerto Rico from Feb 16-26, right in the optimum time period (according to this article) for a major earthquake somewhere in the world -- probably won't be little PR though.

From wikipedia: Historically, 60% of major earthquakes (magnitude 7 or greater) occur during the 14% of the year when the tidal forces are near their maximum. For maximum tidal force, three factors must coincide: First, when the moon (in its elliptical orbit) is closest to the earth; second, when it is within a day or two of a new moon (so that the tidal forces of the moon and sun are acting in concert); and third, when the earth (in its elliptical orbit) is at or near its closest distance to the sun.

In 2007, these dates are January 19-23, February 16-20, and March 17-21. We should expect that during at least two of these three time periods a major earthquake, possibly accompanied by a major volcanic eruption, will occur. April 15-19 and May 14-18 also are susceptible periods for major earthquakes in 2007, although the earth has by that time moved further from the sun.

(Note: This section on Tidal Forces was first submitted to Wikipedia on January 16, 2007. There already has been confirmation of the first predicted tidal-related major earthquake: the U.S. Geological Survey reports that on January 22, 2007 there was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in northeastern Indonesia.)

Barbara