A new report is elevating the possibility that California could see an 8.0 or greater earthquake during the next 30 years.
The stat comes from the Third Uniform Earthquake Rupture Forecast,
better known as UCERF3. The study was a collaboration by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Southern California Earthquake Center, the California Geological Survey and the California Earthquake Authority.
The group’s last report came out in 2008. While most of the findings were similar, the 2015 version raises the odds that California will see an 8.0 or higher tremor in the next three decades from 4.7% to about 7%. The scientists attribute the elevated risk to a better understanding of the relationship between different fault lines.