USGS diagram of San Andreas Fault

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A major earthquake could happen soon in Southern California, researchers from University of California, Irvine and Arizona State University have said in a report to be published in the Sept. 1 issue of Geology.

Earthquakes have rocked the powerful San Andreas fault that splits California far more often than previously thought, according to the report.

UC Irvine and Arizona State University researchers who have charted temblors there stretching back 700 years conclude that large ruptures have occurred on the Carrizo Plain portion of the fault – about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles – as often as every 45 to 144 years. But the last big quake was in 1857, more than 150 years ago.

UCI researchers said that while it was possible the fault was experiencing a natural lull, they thought it was more likely that a major quake could happen soon.

“If you’re waiting for somebody to tell you when we’re close to the next San Andreas earthquake, just look at the data,” UCI seismologist Lisa Grant Ludwig, principal investigator on the study, said in a press release.

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Philippines (dark green) / ASEAN (dark grey)

A series of four strong earthquakes spanning just over an hour struck the Philippines’ Moro Gulf on Saturday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Three of the four earthquakes had magnitudes between 7.3 and 7.6; the other came in at a 5.4 magnitude. The first quake struck at 6:08 a.m. (6:08 p.m. ET Friday) and the fourth hit at 7:15 a.m. The last quake ran the deepest at 616 (382 miles) kilometers.

The epicenters of the quakes were about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coastal city of Cotabato and roughly 950 kilometers (590 miles) southeast of Manila.

CNN

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Upgraded to 7.6 by USGS

Magnitude 7.6
Date-Time
Location 6.482°N, 123.533°E
Depth 575.6 km (357.7 miles)
Region MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
Distances 115 km (70 miles) SW of Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines
150 km (90 miles) S of Pagadian, Mindanao, Philippines
170 km (105 miles) ESE of Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines
945 km (580 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines

Upgraded to 7.4 by USGS

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines’ Moro Gulf early Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter of the quake was 102 kilometers (63 miles) off the coastal city of Cotabato and 923 kilometers (573 miles) southeast of Manila. The temblor ran 616 kilometers (575 miles) deep.

No tsunami warning was immediately issued. The preliminary magnitude was 7.3 for the quake, which hit at 6:08 a.m.

CNN

USGS

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A powerful earthquake has shaken an Aleutian Island region of Alaska but there is no threat of a tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the 6.7-magnitude quake struck at 9:56 p.m. Saturday and was centered in the Bering Sea about 110 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor or 930 miles west of Anchorage. The quake hit about 21 miles beneath the seabed.

Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says there was no danger of a tsunami from the temblor.

A magnitude 6 quake is capable of causing severe damage.

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USGS

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