Geologists Say Recent Earthquake Swarm in Salton Sea Area is Increasing Chance of a Big One

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By , KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO

Geologists say the recent earthquake swarm in the Salton Sea area is increasing the chance of a big earthquake on the San Andreas.

But it's still really low.

The U.S. Geological Survey research geophysicist Morgan Page tells KNX the odds of a magnitude-7 or greater hitting in the next week - are one in one hundred.

"One percent is a low number for a week. On the other hand, a typical week, your chance of a magnitude 7 in that area would be 1 in 10,000. So it's a big change in the probability from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 100 but it is still, overall, kind of a small number," Page said.

The largest quake from this recent swarm was a 4.6 Monday morning.

Page says these swarms are common in the area with the last one happening in 2016.

She says they usually last about a week.

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