Southern California's recent 7.1 earthquake
Last week, on Thursday, a 6.4 earthquake shook the desert area not too far (202 km) from Los Angeles. Less than 2 days later, a 7.1 earthquake struck the same area...and rattled nerves in the LA area.
This is just a small reminder that the faults are active, and the big ones are coming. Not just to California, but to other areas as well.
A big factor that helped trigger this recent tremor was the heavy snow pack and subsequent melting of that snow.
Imagine the weight of all the snow, across the mountain ranges, adding to the forces already pushing on the faults. As that weight is released, it affects the faults, and may trigger a greater release of pressure.
This may not be the end of tremors for the California faults for this year as the snowpack continues to melt.
I'm not convinced the Big Ones will strike this year along the San Andreas (LA area) or Hayward (San Francisco area) faults, but the shifting weight and fault pressure releases on other faults will likely increase pressure on the scarier fault zones.
So, what happens if another record snow comes this next winter? We'll see more stresses being released and probably a better chance of a big one striking next summer (2020). This is probably even more likely if there is a record snowpack from winter and into the spring, and then, when summer starts, a rapid snowmelt from hot, dry weather.
For some areas, a winter earthquake would become even more deadly with the loss of utilities. For example, a rupture on the Wasatch Fault line in late December or sometime during January would be catastrophic with damaged electrical, water, and gas lines. Combined with sub-freezing temperatures during the night, and freezing temps during the day, recovery of utilities will be hampered and people will likely die from exposure to the cold.
However, winter in southern California isn't as bad. But, what if the Big One hits in the middle of a summer heat wave, or even during a long, hot, dry summer? The death toll could become as bad as during the winter with heat stroke and dehydration if utilities are damaged to where electricity is down and water becomes unavailable.
For several years I've wondered if 2020 would see more significant changes coming. We say "hindsight is 20/20" so there would be some irony if, in the future, we look back to 2020 and see some definite changes that appear to have started in that year. But, the reality is the path to those changes actually started before 2020, but things will only have come to a head at that point.
Kind of like in the Book of Mormon where the people become wicked and destruction comes. At that point the people can either repent and get back to prosperity and happiness, or they can continue to rebel against God and revel in wickedness. Throughout the Book of Mormon the people usually repent. But, in 4th Nephi and Mormon, the people just continue to get worse, which ultimately leads to the destruction of their nation. It may be like that for our nation. If the people don't repent and return to God, things will continue to get worse.
While I don't think the Great Gathering (Call Out as some call it) is likely to happen for several more years, we could see the beginnings of some more extensive disasters in this country. I say "beginnings" because they will not only be the beginning, but will also only show us what the beginning of real calamities will look like.
This is just a small reminder that the faults are active, and the big ones are coming. Not just to California, but to other areas as well.
A big factor that helped trigger this recent tremor was the heavy snow pack and subsequent melting of that snow.
Imagine the weight of all the snow, across the mountain ranges, adding to the forces already pushing on the faults. As that weight is released, it affects the faults, and may trigger a greater release of pressure.
This may not be the end of tremors for the California faults for this year as the snowpack continues to melt.
I'm not convinced the Big Ones will strike this year along the San Andreas (LA area) or Hayward (San Francisco area) faults, but the shifting weight and fault pressure releases on other faults will likely increase pressure on the scarier fault zones.
So, what happens if another record snow comes this next winter? We'll see more stresses being released and probably a better chance of a big one striking next summer (2020). This is probably even more likely if there is a record snowpack from winter and into the spring, and then, when summer starts, a rapid snowmelt from hot, dry weather.
For some areas, a winter earthquake would become even more deadly with the loss of utilities. For example, a rupture on the Wasatch Fault line in late December or sometime during January would be catastrophic with damaged electrical, water, and gas lines. Combined with sub-freezing temperatures during the night, and freezing temps during the day, recovery of utilities will be hampered and people will likely die from exposure to the cold.
However, winter in southern California isn't as bad. But, what if the Big One hits in the middle of a summer heat wave, or even during a long, hot, dry summer? The death toll could become as bad as during the winter with heat stroke and dehydration if utilities are damaged to where electricity is down and water becomes unavailable.
For several years I've wondered if 2020 would see more significant changes coming. We say "hindsight is 20/20" so there would be some irony if, in the future, we look back to 2020 and see some definite changes that appear to have started in that year. But, the reality is the path to those changes actually started before 2020, but things will only have come to a head at that point.
Kind of like in the Book of Mormon where the people become wicked and destruction comes. At that point the people can either repent and get back to prosperity and happiness, or they can continue to rebel against God and revel in wickedness. Throughout the Book of Mormon the people usually repent. But, in 4th Nephi and Mormon, the people just continue to get worse, which ultimately leads to the destruction of their nation. It may be like that for our nation. If the people don't repent and return to God, things will continue to get worse.
While I don't think the Great Gathering (Call Out as some call it) is likely to happen for several more years, we could see the beginnings of some more extensive disasters in this country. I say "beginnings" because they will not only be the beginning, but will also only show us what the beginning of real calamities will look like.
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