Western Quakery

RELATIVELY FEW PEOPLE WERE JOLTED BY THE TWIN earthquakes that struck the sparsely populated Southern California desert last June. A lot more may be shaken, though, by a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies. While the Landers and Big Bear quakes (respectively 7.5 and 6.6 on the Richter scale) did little damage, they evidently added stress to the system of underground faults that honeycombs that part of the state. As a result, chances of another big quake have quadrupled, with nearly 1-in-2 odds that one will hit within five years. And next time it could happen on the San Andreas Fault, which runs close to Los Angeles and other population centers.

$ Seattle can start worrying too. Five studies published in Science describe a previously undiscovered fault there, along with evidence that the area was rocked by one or more major earthquakes within the past two millenniums. Alas, it's too soon to predict when the next biggie will hit the Pacific Northwest.