California: Is an Earthquake Imminent?

Heidi Koontz, the public affairs specialist at the United States Geological Service, says that one of the most popular questions being asked of the usgs is: Is this the end of the world?

This is not surprising. Open Drudge on any given day and you’re almost certain to learn of a decent-size earthquake rattling buildings and nerves somewhere in the world. Yesterday, a 6.0-magnitude temblor shook southern Mexico, causing people to evacuate buildings as far north as Mexico City. On Saturday, residents in the Solomon Islands experienced one of the largest earthquakes in a decade. Three days prior, a quake measuring 5.0 surprised millions when it rumbled southern Ontario, Quebec and a large swathe of America’s eastern seaboard.

In recent weeks, other large quakes have struck along the Pacific Ring of Fire, including Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Alaska and western Canada. On June 14 in Southern California, two dozen quakes, the largest measuring 5.7, rattled the region, spilling merchandise in stores and temporarily delaying a Major League baseball game. Experts say the quakes were aftershocks of the Easter Sunday (April 4) temblor, which at 7.2-magnitude was referred to as “the biggest shock to the region in decades.”

No wonder people are growing a little nervous.

Recalling a recent conversation, Koontz stated: “I received a call from a psychiatrist who is getting an influx of patients who are really concerned about the end of days and he wanted us to pinpoint science and provide him with links to science that would help allay the fears of some of his patients. He needed some hard facts, and he said that that actually helped.”

Naturally, usgs scientists—being scientists—gladly downplay the notion that we might be in the last days and that there is no more to these rumblings than the routine clashing and creaking of tectonic plates. “Although it may seem that we are having more earthquakes,” the usgs assures us, “earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant.” This is all pretty normal, seismologist Harley Benz told Fox News: “You can expect earthquakes in locations where we are known to have earthquakes.”

Perhaps Benz and the usgs are right —geologically these earthquakes might be routine and are not anomalous. (Although what is historically anomalous is the death of nearly a quarter of a million people from earthquakes in 2010 alone.) According to Koontz, when people heard the “hard facts” delivered by scientists, their concerns that we might be in the biblically prophesied “last days” were allayed.

Mine aren’t—not in the least. According to the usgs, in any given year one can expect 15 major quakes (7.0 on the Richter scale or higher) plus one great quake (8.0 or higher). We are six months into 2010 and already we’ve had one great quake and nine major quakes. Remarking on the frequency of quakes in 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle observed March 1: “As of this writing, there’s no documentation of such a frequency of quakes as the one the world has seen this year, with so many large quakes in a two-month period” (emphasis mine).

Perhaps science confirms that earthquakes are routine. But it also confirms that larger earthquakes are becoming more common—and that’s not very comforting!

Consider also: If science confirms that large earthquakes occur randomly and often, doesn’t this mean that a massive quake will inevitably occur in one of the seismically active regions of America? Perhaps California?

Again, take a look at the science. Last year, scientists from the University of California–Irvine published new research on the San Andreas fault, the tectonic boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, which runs beneath the heavily populated Los Angeles basin. The scientists discovered that over the past 700 years a large earthquake (larger than 8.0) had occurred on the fault about every 137 years. (Prior to these findings scientists believed a major quake occurred roughly every 200 years.) The last major quake in the San Andreas fault system was the Fort Tejon temblor of 1857.

The math is simple: 1857 + 137 = 1994!

So, according to scientific research, the San Andreas fault is roughly 15 years overdue for a large earthquake. (Note, the 1994 Northridge quake did not directly involve the San Andreas fault system.)

The 2009 report by UC Irvine scientists confirms the warnings of many seismologists who for years, even decades, have forecast the “big one” in California. “It’s been long enough since 1857 that we should be concerned about another great earthquake that ruptures through this part of the fault,” said Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

When it hits, experts say this quake will be at least as big as the 1994 Northridge quake, which killed more than 70 people, injured 9,000 and inflicted $20 billion in damage. “The big one is going to be on the San Andreas fault of around magnitude 8.0,” warned Dr. Nancy King, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “We can’t predict earthquakes,” she warned, “but someday there will be another big one on the San Andreas … which will be a real disaster. So people need to be ready.”

As King admitted, it’s impossible for anyone to predict the specific time of arrival of California’s next great quake. But looking at the intense seismic activity, particularly around the Pacific Ring of Fire, it’s impossible not to wonder if it may not be soon—really soon. Remarking on the recent spate of quakes near the California-Mexico border, and specifically the seismic activity on the fault on which the temblors occurred, Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Center at usc, recently stated: “It’s been especially rich at the north end [which juts into Southern California] of the fault.”

Is bustling Southern California about to be struck by a massive earthquake?

In Matthew 24, Christ’s disciples asked what signs would precede His Second Coming and the end of this present age. Jesus responded by delivering the most pivotal prophecy of His earthly ministry, the Olivet prophecy. It is clear that Christ was speaking about the time we are living in right now. In verses 21-22, for example, He said that He would return at a time when all human flesh would risk being destroyed. This can only be talking about today’s nuclear age.

Now notice verses 6-7: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers [different] places” (verses 6-7).

Jesus told His disciples that terrible natural disasters would precede His Second Coming, and He warned specifically that there would be earthquakes in different places. Of course, as the scientists are quick to tell us, earthquakes routinely occur “in different places.” Christ, however, was warning that not only would there be an uptick in the number of earthquakes, but that these quakes would inflict greater damage on mankind.

He was prophesying that large, devastating earthquakes would increasingly rumble through densely populated areas. Already in 2010 we’ve witnessed this occur in Haiti, and to a lesser extent in Chile. For Americans, these devastating quakes are really a chilling sign: Both science and Bible prophecy warn that a massive earthquake is inevitable in California!

If you rank among those surveying this trembling planet and quietly wondering if something more significant is happening (or about to happen), check out our recent article “Why Have Natural Disasters Increased?”