Scientist Says 'The Big One' Could Be More Devastating For Region Than Originally Thought
NORTHRIDGE (CBSLA.com) — It's a scary thought to say the least.
"The Big One"? It might be bigger than anyone has previously imagined.
Geophysics professor Julian Lozos at Cal State Northridge recently had his study published in the journal Science Advances, suggesting it's not just the San Andreas fault we should worry about.
"The San Andreas by itself can produce a 7.5 and everybody thinks of it as the bogeyman. ... But the fact that the San Jacinto can be involved means there's more ways you can get a big earthquake," he told CBS2's Brittney Hopper.
Lozos' used computer models for his study.
Looking at an earthquake that happened in 1812 in San Juan Capistrano, he believes that earthquake likely began on the San Jacinto fault near Mystic Lake, and traveled north and then jumped to the San Andreas, indicating activity on more than one fault could combine to cause a larger event.
"Now that there's pretty strong evidence that it happened once we know it's physically possible, and we know it could happen again," Lozos said.
Lozos stresses his study cannot predict when the big one would happen.
Just that it could be bigger than Californians ever thought.
It took professor Lozos one year to complete his study, and it was published on Friday.