Earthquakes

Large earthquakes have rumbled along a southern section of the San Andreas fault more frequently than previously believed, suggesting that Southern California could be overdue for a strong temblor on the notorious fault line, a new study has found. The Carrizo Plain section of the San Andreas has not seen a massive quake since the much-researched Fort Tejon temblor of 1857, which at an estimated magnitude of 7.

Come hell or high water -- she's actually expecting both -- Nobue Kunizaki will be ready when the dreaded Tokai earthquake finally hits central Japan, whether in the next month or years from now. She's anticipating a temblor that's already got a name as well as estimates on when and where and how mightily it might strike, a guessing game that has rattled even this earthquake-prone nation. But no one, perhaps, is shakier than the petite 39-year-old.

An earthquake estimated at magnitude 4.5 centered about a mile south of San Bernardino jolted Southern California on Thursday evening but caused no major damage, according to authorities. The quake was felt just before 8 p.m. in downtown Los Angeles, parts of the High Desert, San Pedro and coastal and inland Orange County, but not as far south as San Diego. "It was a hard jolt that lasted no more than five to eight seconds," said San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracy.

Rocking an infant nephew in her arms, Mary Poloai stood outside the main entrance of the imposing Samoan Congregational Christian Church in Carson on Wednesday staring up at the sky and fighting back tears. "I'm so sad that I can't think straight," said Poloai, 58, one of more than 100 people who gathered at a special prayer service for victims of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Samoa and American Samoa early Tuesday. "They still haven't found my mother's sisters," she said.

The northern portion of the Newport-Inglewood fault, which appeared to rupture in Sunday's magnitude 4.7 quake, is believed to be less prone to large, destructive earthquakes than the fault's southern portion, USC professor James Dolan said Monday. The Newport-Inglewood fault, counting its southern continuation, known as the Rose Canyon fault, is about 150 miles long and runs from Baldwin Hills to the Mexican border.

Do you think the ground feels a little shakier these days? It's not your imagination. Last year saw a significant increase in the number of temblors of magnitude 3.0 or greater in Southern California and the northern portion of Baja California, according to data from Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey. The region recorded 267 shakers with magnitudes of 3.0 and above last year, compared with 125 in 2007. Seismologists said 2008 had the highest number of such quakes of any year since 1999.

A strong earthquake rocked this rural northeastern Nevada town early Thursday, damaging hundreds of homes, rupturing gas and water lines, and felling brick building facades in the mostly unoccupied historical district. No serious injuries were reported after the magnitude-6.0 quake jolted the high-desert town awake at 6:16 a.m. and rumbled across much of the West.

Seventy-five years ago today, at 5:54 p.m., the Long Beach earthquake struck -- and Southern California is still feeling the aftershocks. Leo Vander Lans was riding in the family car down what is now Long Beach Boulevard when the ground began to shake. "I recall looking out the right-hand side of the car and this building, this brick building, collapsed," said Vander Lans, 82, a semi-retired attorney still living in Long Beach. "The bricks were falling, including on the car."

Southern California stands a much greater chance of a huge temblor in the next 30 years than Northern California, according to a statewide earthquake forecast released Monday. The report, which brought together experts from the U.S. Geological Survey, USC's Southern California Earthquake Center and the State Geological Survey, also found that California is virtually certain to experience at least one major temblor by 2028. According to the research, the chance of a 6.

Scientists urged residents of northern Nevada's largest city to prepare for a bigger seismic event as the area continued rumbling Saturday after the largest in a two-month-long series of earthquakes. More than 100 aftershocks were recorded on the western edge of the city after a magnitude 4.7 quake hit Friday night, the strongest in the Reno area since one measuring 5.2 in 1953, according to researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.