‘High Probability’ California Could Have Destructive Quake in Next 100 Years: Study

There is also a chance for the largest quakes in California and Alaska, according to Mark Petersen, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study.

Visitors cross highway 178 next to a crack left on the road by an earthquake near Ridgecrest, Calif., on July 7, 2019. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

California could be hit with a massive earthquake—possibly up to a 6.7 to 7.0 magnitude temblor—in the next century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s latest earthquake study.

“There’s a very high probability—and our maps show it—for large earthquakes to occur in California,” Mark Petersen, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study, told The Epoch Times. “It could be in 100 years, or it could be 50 years.”