With Sunday
]]>Posted: April 6, 2009 11:27 PM (KFMB)
Scientists Monitoring Quake Swarms Near San Andreas
In Southern California, scientists have their eye on a swarm of quakes in the desert. More than 450 quakes have hit near the Salton Sea since March 21.
The southern end of the San Andreas Fault hasn’t snapped in more than 300 years. But scientists worry small quakes could act as a trigger for the big one.
“It’s very close to the locked section of the San Andreas Fault. Anything seismically that happens there definitely gets our attention,” said Cal Tech Seismologist Kate Hutton.
Scientists are installing 22 motion sensors on the 800 mile fault line that slices California from San Francisco to the Salton Sea.
A temblor in the southern end of the fault could hit San Diego County within a minute of rupture.
Experts say everyone should have earthquake preparedness kits ready with plenty of food and water stocked up.
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On Monday, experts from around the country gathered in San Diego at the UCSD Englekirk Structural Engineering Center at Camp Elliot, where a 7.0 earthquake was brought to life by a quake table.
A full-size, single-story masonry structure with clay masonry went through a series of tests and was still standing at the end. Only a few cracks were reported.