Hundreds of millions of Americans are at risk from damaging earthquakes, with a new map revealing that almost 75% of the country is in a danger zone.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) made the discovery following its latest National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM), which found major cities including New York, Washington and Boston were at an increased risk of major shakes.
- Nearly 75% of the US is at risk of damaging earthquakes and intense ground shaking, putting hundreds of millions of people at risk
- The USGS predicts earthquake damage will cost the country $14.7 billion a year
- 37 US states have experienced earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5 during the last 200 years
Famously active regions such as California and Alaska also face a greater chance of damaging earthquakes in the next century, while recent volcanic eruptions in Hawaii have left the island at heightened risk.
The map shows a long stretch of the west coast and southern Alaska have a more than 95% chance of a damaging earthquake in the next 100 years. Hotspots around Memphis, Tennessee, and Yellowstone – home to a supervolcano – show a 75% to 95% chance.
New tools and technology allowed scientists to detect more than 500 new fault lines crisscrossing the country, bringing the total to around 1,000.
‘Earthquakes are difficult to forecast, but we’ve made great strides with this new model,’ said Mark Petersen, USGS geophysicist and lead author of the study.
‘The update includes more faults, better-characterised land surfaces, and computational advancements in modeling that provide the most detailed view ever of the earthquake risks we face.’
As a result of the new modelling, 25 states including Washington, Oregon, Indiana, Arkansas and South Carolina are now at moderate to high risk of a major quake in the next 100 years.
The ‘Atlantic Coastal corridor’ is also at higher risk, with the likelihood of New York suffering a damaging quake raised by 60%. The city is home to almost nine million people.
‘This was a massive, multi-year collaborative effort between federal, state and local governments and the private sector,’ said Mr Petersen. ‘The new seismic hazard model represents a touchstone achievement for enhancing public safety.’
However, the USGS warned that earthquakes cannot be predicted.
‘[But] by investigating faults and past quakes, scientists can better assess the likelihood of future earthquakes and how intense their shaking might be,’ it said in a statement.
The USGS has improved the NSHM over the past five decades, helping to identify ‘threats to citizens and infrastructure’.
Its latest report forecast direct average economic losses of $14.7 billion a year from earthquake damage.
The US suffers earthquakes every day, but most are minor. At just after 8am this morning a 2.8 magnitude quake hit Alaska, while less than two hours earlier a 2.5 magnitude tremble barely troubled Texas.
In 1964 a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska, became the second-largest earthquake ever recorded, while the 1906 San Francisco earthquake in California remains one of the country’s biggest disasters, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people killed.
California sits on the San Andreas fault, a major focal point for earthquakes as the boundary between two tectonic plates.
However, there has not been a major earthquake on the US mainland since a 6.7 tremor in Northridge, California, in 1994.
But scientists have warned that the Yellowstone supervolcano will cause ‘mass destruction’ when it next erupts – but cannot say when.
MORE : Earthquake struck Cornwall ‘like a juggernaut had hit the house’
MORE : Yellowstone supervolcano due to cause ‘mass destruction’ when it next erupts
MORE : Mysterious flashes light up the sky moments before Morocco earthquake
Get your need-to-know
latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
