welcome
MailOnline

MailOnline

Science

Science

REVEALED: US cities most at risk of major earthquake damage this year

MailOnline
Summary
Nutrition label

83% Informative

Home Gnome evaluated 206 of the largest US counties based on earthquake risk, the median age of homes, the number of dams in the area and other metrics to assess their impact risk.

They calculated a risk score for each county (out of 100 points) and ranked them from least vulnerable to most vulnerable.

Some places on the list are unexpected, including Tennessee and Oklahoma .

Multiple areas in California and Oregon , two of the most earthquake-prone states, made the list as well.

Memphis is located on the southern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone , one of the most seismically active regions east of the Rock Mountains .

The New Madrid has a 40 percent chance of releasing an 8.4 magnitude earthquake in the next 50 years .

Alameda County , home to the city of Oakland , came in fifth place with a risk score of 49.9 points.

Oakland is affected by smaller faults that branch off of the San Andreas fault, including the Hayward , which runs directly through this city and has produced earthquakes as strong as magnitude 7.8 in 1868 .

San Bernardino was rocked by a cluster of three earthquakes on February 10 .

The largest — a magnitude 3.6 — struck around 10pm local time, and no damages or injuries were immediately reported.

VR Score

85

Informative language

82

Neutral language

76

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

43

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

Affiliate links

no affiliate links