Hi All. There may be a major quake in the near future for Southern California according to University of Oregon geologist Ray Weldon. A detailed analysis of two periods of past quake activity on a section of the fault suggests a drawn-out period of little seismic activity may be coming to an end.

“Digging into the San Andreas at a location called Wrightwood about 60 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Weldon and his colleagues found evidence of 30 quakes of magnitudes between 7.5 and 8.0 that had struck between 3000 and 1200 B.C. and A.D. 500 and the present.”

“An earthquake on the southern San Andreas of magnitude-7.5 or larger could kill thousands of people in the greater Los Angeles area and cause damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars, experts have said.”

“On average, quakes of that size have struck Wrightwood at roughly 100-year intervals, although the lulls between temblors lasted as little as 10 years and as long as 224 years.”

“When viewed in series, the quakes appear to have struck in flurries, followed by periods of relative quiet.”

• Southern California