Allan G Lindh

In the days after the strong Landers earthquake, Allan G. Lindh's warnings of a possibly imminent Big One were so provocative and became so highly publicized that his superiors back East advised him to tone down. As a result, these days Lindh, the top seismologist in California for the U.S. Geological Survey, is almost contrite. "I'm sorry if I scared the people of L.A. unnecessarily," said Lindh in an interview in his cluttered office at the Geological Survey's western regional headquarters.

In the days after the strong Landers earthquake, Allan G. Lindh's warnings of a possibly imminent Big One were so provocative and became so highly publicized that his superiors back East advised him to tone down. As a result, these days Lindh, the top seismologist in California for the U.S. Geological Survey, is almost contrite. "I'm sorry if I scared the people of L.A. unnecessarily," said Lindh in an interview in his cluttered office at the Geological Survey's western regional headquarters.

Scientists who have studied the historical record before major earthquakes in California over the last 150 years have concluded that large earthquakes may be preceded by smaller quakes in the same seismic zone during the one or two decades before the main event. Lynn R. Sykes and Stephen C.