Most Californians are familiar with earthquakes. But researchers say the state faces an overlooked threat: “supershear” earthquakes that move so fast they outrun their own seismic waves.
Most Californians are familiar with earthquakes. But researchers say the state faces an overlooked threat: “supershear” earthquakes that move so fast they outrun their own seismic waves.
In an opinion piece published in Seismological Research Letters, scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences warn that these quakes produce more violent shaking over larger areas than typical earthquakes, and California must update its hazard planning and building codes to reflect the heightened risk of damage.
“While California is no more likely to have supershear earthquakes than other, similar regions with large fault systems like the San Andreas, the threat has gone unnoticed for too long,” said Yehuda Ben-Zion, professor of Earth sciences and director of the Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC), based at USC Dornsife. “The frequency of these supershear ruptures has been greatly underappreciated.”
Read more at: University of Southern California
A section of Southern California freeway lies in ruins following a major earthquake. (Photo Credit: USGS.)
