San Andreas Crack May Spark the BIGGEST Tsunami Ever!
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00:00The recent earthquakes in the Sierra are a great reminder of California's other very active earthquake zone.
00:06Now, when you think about earthquakes, you're probably thinking about earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault.
00:11Powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked northern California and triggered a tsunami warning today.
00:17A powerful disaster may be looming beneath California.
00:20The San Andreas Fault, a massive crack slicing through the state, has long been feared for its ability to unleash devastating earthquakes.
00:28But what if the next big rupture triggers something even worse?
00:32Scientists warn that the fault's instability could set off a catastrophic tsunami, reshaping entire coastlines in an instant,
00:39with recent earthquakes rattling San Bernardino and California overdue for a massive quake.
00:45How much longer can the fault hold?
00:47The signs are building, and experts are watching closely.
00:51Could the recent tremors be a warning of what's to come?
00:53Recent earthquakes and growing concerns.
00:55Imagine waking up to the ground shifting beneath you, a deep, unsettling rumble, shaking the walls, rattling your windows, and setting off a chorus of car alarms outside.
01:07That's exactly what happened in San Bernardino, California, when two back-to-back earthquakes struck in the early hours of the morning, just this Monday.
01:15The first hit at exactly 9.44, registering a magnitude of 3.5.
01:20Four minutes later, another tremor followed, slightly weaker at 3.0.
01:26For a state used to seismic activity, this wasn't exactly a record-breaking event, but something about it felt...off.
01:34The quakes were centered just a few miles north of San Bernardino, their depths stretching more than four miles underground.
01:40No major damage was reported, and thankfully, no one was hurt.
01:45But that didn't stop people from noticing.
01:47Residents in Inglewood, Redondo Beach, Palm Springs, and even North San Diego County all felt it.
01:54Some took to social media, posting things like,
01:56Felt both, just another day in California.
01:59Others shrugged it off with a mix of humor and resignation.
02:02But beneath the jokes, there was an unspoken question hanging in the air.
02:07Was this just another routine tremor?
02:09Or was it a warning sign of something much bigger?
02:12California, after all, is no stranger to earthquakes.
02:16It sits directly on the San Andreas Fault, a massive geological boundary that marks the meeting point of two enormous tectonic plates.
02:24The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
02:27These plates are constantly in motion, grinding against each other at an excruciatingly slow pace.
02:34Most of the time, this movement is harmless.
02:37But every once in a while, the stress between them becomes too much,
02:41and the fault gives way in the form of a powerful earthquake.
02:44The problem?
02:45Scientists say this fault has been holding back a massive amount of stress for decades.
02:50And when it finally gives, the results could be catastrophic.
02:53The recent quakes in San Bernardino were small, yes.
02:57But they happened along the very fault line that experts have been watching like hawks,
03:02and they weren't the only ones.
03:04In January alone, California was hit with four earthquakes in just 24 hours.
03:09One tremor?
03:11Normal.
03:12Two?
03:13Fine.
03:14But four?
03:15That's when you start to wonder if the Earth is trying to send a message.
03:18The real fear isn't about these smaller quakes themselves,
03:21but about what they could be leading up to.
03:25Scientists have been saying for years that the West Coast is overdue for what's known as
03:29the Big One, a massive earthquake measuring magnitude 8 or higher.
03:34That's not just a big earthquake.
03:36That's a life-altering disaster.
03:38According to estimates from the Great California Shakeout,
03:41a quake of that size could cause around 1,800 deaths,
03:45at least 50,000 injuries,
03:47and a staggering $200 billion in damage.
03:50And here's where things get really unsettling.
03:53Scientists say both the northern and southern sections of the San Andreas Fault
03:57have an equal chance of generating a high-magnitude earthquake in the next few decades.
04:02That means whether it's Los Angeles or San Francisco,
04:06at least one major urban center is in the direct path of destruction.
04:10So what does all this mean?
04:11Are these recent quakes just another reminder that California lives on shaky ground?
04:16Or are they warning tremors signaling something much worse?
04:20One thing is for sure, the San Andreas Fault is a ticking time bomb.
04:24But how exactly does it work?
04:26What makes this fault line so dangerous compared to others?
04:29The San Andreas Fault and its history.
04:31The San Andreas Fault is more than just a crack in the ground.
04:35It is one of the most studied and feared fault lines in the world.
04:38A massive fracture in the Earth's crust that stretches for nearly 800 miles across California.
04:44But here's what makes it truly dangerous.
04:46It is not just any fault.
04:48It is a strike-slip fault.
04:50Meaning the two sides of the fracture are grinding past each other horizontally
04:54rather than one slipping over the other.
04:56This type of movement may sound less destructive than faults that push land upwards.
05:01But it actually makes the San Andreas incredibly volatile.
05:05To understand why, you have to go back in time.
05:08The story of the San Andreas Fault begins 30 million years ago,
05:11when the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate first met.
05:15These two colossal slabs of Earth's crust were never supposed to be friendly neighbors.
05:20The Pacific Plate was moving northwest,
05:22while the North American Plate was creeping in the opposite direction.
05:26The friction between them created enormous pressure,
05:29and that pressure needed somewhere to go.
05:31So like a crack forming in glass, the San Andreas Fault was born.
05:36For millions of years, the plates continued their slow-motion battle.
05:40Each year, they move roughly the same distance as your fingernails grow.
05:44About two inches.
05:46That may not sound like much, but over time, it adds up.
05:49The accumulated strain builds until the rocks along the fault can no longer hold it in.
05:54And then, snap.
05:56The plates lurch forward in a violent, sudden motion,
06:00releasing seismic energy that we feel as an earthquake.
06:03Some of the most infamous earthquakes in history have come from the San Andreas Fault.
06:09The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is one of the most devastating examples.
06:15At magnitude 7.9, it wasn't just an earthquake.
06:19It was an urban catastrophe.
06:21Buildings collapsed and over 3,000 people lost their lives.
06:25This was the moment that cemented the San Andreas Fault's reputation as a force to be feared.
06:29Then there was the Fort Tejan earthquake of 1857.
06:34While lesser known, this quake actually ruptured a much longer stretch of the fault than the 1906 disaster.
06:41The shaking was so intense that trees were uprooted,
06:44the ground cracked open, and rivers even changed course.
06:48If a similar quake were to strike today,
06:50experts estimate it would cause unimaginable destruction,
06:53especially with California's massive population centers sitting right on the fault line.
06:59And here's the part that should make anyone uneasy.
07:02The fault is not just dangerous because of its history,
07:05but because of its pattern.
07:08Earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault tend to happen in cycles.
07:12And those cycles suggest that we are overdue for a massive rupture.
07:16Scientists have discovered evidence of past earthquakes
07:19by digging trenches along the fault and analyzing sediment layers.
07:23What they found was alarming.
07:26Over the past 1,200 years,
07:28major quakes have struck along the southern section of the fault
07:31roughly every 175 to 200 years.
07:34The last major rupture, 1857.
07:38That means the fault is now more than 50 years past due
07:41for another massive earthquake.
07:43And while smaller quakes, like the recent ones in San Bernardino,
07:47relieve some of the built-up tension,
07:49they are nowhere near enough to prevent the big one.
07:52The fault is locked, meaning stress is accumulating with no release.
07:56When it finally snaps,
07:57it could set off a domino effect,
08:00triggering other nearby faults,
08:02amplifying the destruction,
08:04and potentially leading to a multi-fault rupture,
08:07something scientists have only recently begun to understand.
08:11But earthquakes aren't the only danger.
08:13The land around the fault is physically shifting over time.
08:16If you were to stand on one side of the San Andreas fault
08:19and your friends stood on the other,
08:22you would both be moving in opposite directions,
08:25just very, very slowly.
08:27The city of Los Angeles, which sits on the Pacific Plate,
08:30is actually creeping closer to San Francisco
08:33at a rate of two inches per year.
08:36In several million years,
08:37Los Angeles and San Francisco
08:39will literally be next-door neighbors.
08:41While that might sound like a fascinating geological quirk,
08:45it also means that massive stress
08:47is constantly building between the plates,
08:49pushing the fault closer to its breaking point.
08:52Adding to the concern,
08:53some sections of the fault are creeping,
08:55while others are completely stuck.
08:58Scientists have identified a particularly concerning area,
09:01the LOX segment running through Southern California.
09:04This section has been eerily silent for far too long.
09:07It has not experienced a major rupture in centuries,
09:10meaning an enormous amount of stress
09:11has been trapped underground.
09:13When it finally moves,
09:14it won't be a minor shake.
09:16It will be a violent, landscape-altering disaster.
09:19And this brings us to a terrifying possibility.
09:22What if the next rupture doesn't just cause shaking,
09:25but triggers something much bigger?
09:27How the fault triggers earthquakes.
09:29The San Andreas fault is like a wound in the Earth's crust,
09:32but instead of healing,
09:34it gets worse with time.
09:35Deep beneath the surface,
09:37immense forces are at work.
09:40Silent, invisible,
09:41and completely unstoppable.
09:43It is here along the grinding boundary
09:45between the Pacific plate and the North American plate
09:48that earthquakes are born.
09:50But how exactly does this fault trigger earthquakes?
09:53And more importantly,
09:54why do scientists believe
09:55the next one will be catastrophic?
09:57To understand this,
09:59imagine the Earth's crust as a giant puzzle
10:01made of rigid pieces called tectonic plates.
10:03These plates are constantly shifting,
10:06moving just inches every year.
10:08Normally, this movement is slow and steady,
10:10but the problem with the San Andreas fault
10:12is that parts of it are stuck.
10:15Friction holds the plates in place,
10:17preventing them from sliding smoothly.
10:19But while the plates may not be moving at the surface,
10:22the energy beneath them is still building.
10:25It is like pulling back a slingshot.
10:27Tension increases until the resistance gives out,
10:30and when it does,
10:31the plates lurch forward in a violent motion.
10:34This is what we feel as an earthquake.
10:36The San Andreas fault is particularly dangerous
10:38because of its strike-slip nature.
10:41Instead of one plate diving under the other,
10:43like in a subduction zone,
10:45these plates slide past each other horizontally.
10:47This sideways movement can be incredibly destructive
10:50because instead of energy dissipating
10:52into the deep ocean or uninhabited areas,
10:55it is released right under California's
10:58most populated cities.
11:00And here's where things get even worse.
11:02Earthquakes along the San Andreas fault
11:04do not happen in just one place.
11:06When a rupture begins,
11:07it can unzip the fault like a broken seam,
11:10spreading along its length in seconds.
11:12The more the fault that ruptures,
11:14the bigger the earthquake.
11:15Scientists have found evidence
11:17that during some past earthquakes,
11:19this chain reaction has allowed tremors
11:21to spread over hundreds of miles.
11:23The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
11:25is a prime example.
11:27The rupture started northwest of the city,
11:29but quickly spread along nearly 300 miles of the fault,
11:33turning what might have been a localized disaster
11:35into a statewide catastrophe.
11:37More concerning is the possibility
11:39of multi-fault ruptures.
11:41Most people think of earthquakes
11:43as a single break in the ground,
11:45but the reality is much more chaotic.
11:48California's landscape is laced
11:50with a network of faults,
11:51many of which are connected in ways
11:53scientists are still trying to understand.
11:56If the San Andreas ruptures in just the right way,
11:59it could set off a domino effect,
12:02triggering multiple nearby faults at once.
12:04This scenario would dramatically increase
12:06the strength of the quake,
12:08shaking areas far beyond the expected impact zone.
12:11And when it comes to the San Andreas,
12:13location matters.
12:15The fault runs through both rural
12:16and heavily populated regions.
12:18If a major rupture starts in a remote area
12:21like the Carrizo Plain,
12:22the shaking could be strong,
12:24but less destructive.
12:25But if it starts closer to a city,
12:28Los Angeles, San Francisco,
12:30or even the Inland Empire,
12:32the damage could be catastrophic.
12:34One of the biggest concerns
12:35is directivity pulses.
12:37These occur when an earthquake rupture
12:39moves in the same direction
12:40as the fault itself,
12:42sending seismic energy forward
12:43in a powerful wave.
12:45Think of it like a speeding car
12:46kicking up a dust cloud.
12:48The faster the rupture moves,
12:50the more intense the shaking
12:51at the front of the wave.
12:52This is bad news for places like Los Angeles,
12:55which sits right in the path
12:57of a potential rupture
12:58along the southern section of the fault.
13:00And this brings us
13:01to one of the scariest possibilities,
13:03a full-length rupture
13:04of the San Andreas Fault.
13:06In simulations,
13:08geologists have modeled
13:09what would happen
13:09if the fault were to break
13:10from end to end,
13:12from the Salton Sea in the south
13:13all the way up to Cape Mendocino
13:15in the north.
13:16The results?
13:17Utter devastation.
13:19A magnitude 8 or higher earthquake
13:21could cause violent shaking
13:22for several minutes,
13:24damaging infrastructure
13:25across the entire state.
13:26Bridges could collapse,
13:29highways could split open,
13:30and entire neighborhoods
13:31could be reduced to rubble.
13:33But the worst part?
13:35It would not be over
13:36when the shaking stops.
13:37Major earthquakes
13:38on strike-slip faults
13:39can trigger severe aftershocks,
13:41some nearly as large
13:42as the main quake itself.
13:44After the 1857
13:46Fort Tijon earthquake,
13:47powerful aftershocks
13:48continued for months,
13:50adding to the destruction.
13:51The same happened
13:52after the 1994
13:53Northridge earthquake,
13:54when an aftershock
13:56nearly collapsed
13:56an already weakened freeway.
13:58If the big one
13:59were to strike today,
14:01aftershocks could cripple
14:02rescue efforts,
14:03making an already dire situation
14:05even worse.
14:06And then there's the risk
14:07of liquefaction.
14:08This occurs when strong shaking
14:10turns solid ground
14:11into something more like quicksand.
14:13In areas with loose,
14:15water-saturated soil,
14:16like much of the Los Angeles basin,
14:18entire buildings
14:19could sink into the ground,
14:21tilting and collapsing
14:22as the earth beneath them shifts.
14:25And here's something
14:25most people don't think about.
14:27Fires.
14:28Some of the deadliest earthquakes
14:30in history
14:30were not just destructive
14:31because of the shaking,
14:33but because of the infernos
14:34that followed.
14:35The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
14:38is a perfect example.
14:40The quake itself
14:40caused massive destruction,
14:42but it was the uncontrollable fires
14:45that truly wiped out the city.
14:47Gas lines ruptured,
14:49electrical wires sparked,
14:50and entire neighborhoods
14:52burned for days.
14:54If a similar earthquake
14:55were to strike Los Angeles
14:56or San Francisco today,
14:58the same nightmare scenario
15:00could unfold.
15:01Now let's talk about something
15:03even more terrifying,
15:05the silent sections
15:06of the San Andreas Fault.
15:08While some parts of the fault
15:09experience frequent smaller quakes
15:11that release pressure,
15:12other sections have remained
15:14locked for centuries.
15:15These are the areas
15:16that worry scientists the most.
15:18They are storing immense amounts
15:20of energy,
15:21and when they finally rupture,
15:22they could release
15:23one of the most violent earthquakes
15:25in recorded history.
15:26But what if an earthquake
15:27along the San Andreas Fault
15:29isn't just about land movement?
15:31What if it shakes
15:32something even bigger?
15:34What if it disturbs
15:35the ocean itself?
15:36Tsunamis
15:37and other catastrophic risks.
15:39When you hear the word tsunami,
15:41your mind might immediately
15:42jump to images
15:43of massive waves
15:44crashing into the shorelines
15:45of Southeast Asia
15:46or Japan.
15:48These enormous walls of water
15:49are often triggered
15:50by underwater earthquakes.
15:52But the terrifying reality
15:54is that California
15:55is just as vulnerable
15:56to such a disaster.
15:58The San Andreas Fault,
16:00while famous for generating
16:01massive earthquakes,
16:02could also be the catalyst
16:03for a devastating tsunami.
16:06It's important to understand
16:07how this could happen
16:07and why it's a possibility
16:09we can no longer ignore.
16:11Tsunamis are not simply
16:12caused by earthquakes.
16:14They require a specific type
16:15of seismic event,
16:17one that causes the ocean floor
16:19to displace vertically
16:20in a significant way.
16:21But when we look
16:22at California's situation,
16:24there's one key factor
16:25that could lead
16:25to a perfect storm,
16:27the fault's proximity
16:28to the Pacific Ocean.
16:30The San Andreas Fault
16:31runs through the length
16:32of California,
16:33stretching from the Gulf
16:34of California in the south
16:35to northern California,
16:37very close to the coast.
16:39When a major rupture occurs,
16:40it could cause
16:41a sudden displacement of land
16:42that is close enough
16:43to the sea
16:44to disrupt the ocean surface.
16:46Imagine the ocean floor
16:47moving vertically
16:48by several feet or more
16:49during a large earthquake.
16:51This could set off
16:52a tsunami wave,
16:53sending powerful water surges
16:54toward coastal cities,
16:56including Los Angeles,
16:57San Francisco,
16:58and San Diego.
17:00While most tsunamis
17:01are triggered
17:01by submarine earthquakes,
17:03which occur
17:03when tectonic plates shift
17:05beneath the ocean,
17:06land-based earthquakes
17:07along the San Andreas
17:09could still have
17:10a massive impact
17:11on the coastline.
17:11The fault is not underwater,
17:14but if the earthquake
17:14causes a landmass
17:16to suddenly shift,
17:17it could trigger landslides
17:18that displace water,
17:20potentially creating a wave
17:21large enough
17:22to flood coastal areas.
17:23The real danger
17:24lies in the speed
17:25at which such waves travel.
17:27Tsunami waves,
17:28once generated,
17:29can move across the ocean
17:31at speeds
17:31of over 500 miles per hour.
17:34This means that
17:34if a massive earthquake
17:36strikes along
17:36the San Andreas Fault,
17:38coastal communities
17:39may have just a few minutes
17:40to react before
17:41the waves arrive.
17:42In places like Los Angeles
17:44and San Francisco,
17:46where millions of people
17:47live and work
17:47near the coast,
17:48the damage
17:49could be catastrophic.
17:51Tsunamis are not
17:51the only risk
17:52from a massive earthquake
17:53along the San Andreas Fault.
17:56In fact,
17:56there are multiple
17:57interconnected hazards
17:58that could cause
17:59widespread destruction.
18:01Let's take a look
18:01at some of the most
18:02immediate and devastating impacts
18:04that a magnitude 8 earthquake
18:05could cause
18:06across California.
18:07A big threat
18:08to coastal cities
18:09comes from tsunami-induced flooding.
18:11While the initial waves
18:12of a tsunami
18:13can flood low-lying areas,
18:15the aftermath
18:15can be even worse.
18:17Floodwaters can linger
18:18for days,
18:19cutting off communities
18:20from rescue efforts
18:21and leaving them stranded
18:23in the path
18:24of further destruction.
18:25The storm surge
18:26caused by the tsunami
18:27could also push inland,
18:29compounding the damage
18:30to coastal infrastructure.
18:32The damage to hospitals,
18:33power plants,
18:34and airports
18:35could be catastrophic,
18:36leaving communities
18:37unable to respond effectively
18:39to the disaster.
18:40Beyond the immediate destruction,
18:42there is the long-term risk
18:43of infrastructure collapse.
18:45The water supply system
18:46in California
18:47relies heavily
18:48on pipelines
18:49that run under the ground.
18:50In the event
18:51of a powerful earthquake,
18:52these pipelines
18:54could rupture,
18:55leading to widespread
18:56water shortages.
18:58Without water,
18:58the region would be unable
19:00to put out fires
19:00or provide the necessary care
19:02for the injured.
19:04Hospitals and clinics,
19:05which would be dealing
19:06with thousands of casualties,
19:08would find themselves
19:09unable to function
19:10due to power outages
19:11and damaged facilities.
19:13Another potential hazard
19:15is the disruption
19:15to communication systems.
19:17When a major earthquake hits,
19:19cell phone networks
19:20and the internet
19:21often go down
19:22due to overloaded networks
19:23and damaged infrastructure.
19:25In the case of a tsunami
19:26or major quake
19:27along the San Andreas Fault,
19:29communication breakdowns
19:31could prevent residents
19:32from receiving critical
19:33evacuation instructions or aid.
19:35This is particularly concerning
19:37in areas where evacuation routes
19:38are limited
19:39and populations are dense.
19:41The earthquake's impact
19:42would also disrupt
19:43transportation systems.
19:45Roads, bridges,
19:47and railways
19:47that provide access
19:48to the coast
19:49would likely be destroyed,
19:51trapping people
19:51in affected areas
19:52and making it impossible
19:53for emergency responders
19:55to get to where
19:56they are needed most.
19:58Without efficient transportation,
20:00evacuations would become
20:01even more difficult,
20:02and rescue teams
20:04would struggle
20:04to reach the most
20:05vulnerable areas.
20:06With all these risks combined,
20:08it's clear that
20:09a massive earthquake
20:10along the San Andreas Fault
20:11is not just a threat
20:12of shaking,
20:13but a multifaceted disaster
20:15that could trigger
20:16a devastating chain reaction.
20:19Tsunamis, fires,
20:21infrastructure collapse,
20:22and communication breakdowns
20:23would all work together
20:25to create a perfect storm
20:26of destruction.
20:27California sits
20:28on a ticking time bomb,
20:29and when the San Andreas Fault
20:31finally snaps,
20:33the destruction could be
20:34unlike anything
20:35we've ever seen.
20:36Earthquakes, tsunamis,
20:38fires,
20:39and infrastructure collapse,
20:41all waiting
20:42for the perfect moment.
20:43The question is not if,
20:44but when.
20:46So what do you think?
20:47Will California ever be
20:48truly prepared
20:49for the big one?
20:50Drop your thoughts
20:51in the comments.
20:52If you enjoyed
20:53this deep dive,
20:54don't forget to like,
20:55subscribe,
20:56and stay ready
20:57for what's coming next.