South Whidbey - Woodinville Fault 1

[msquared48]

A friend (non-engineer type) toled me this weekend that they heard some new information on this fault on a TV news broadcast last week.

Supposedly, some new information regarding this fault was discovered from recent activity on an adjacent fault. It's now supposedly rated somewhere between a magnitude 8.0 to 9.0 on a possible future event. This magnitude rivals the Cascadia Subduction zone effect and I find it very hard to believe, although the faults are only separated by about 300 miles as the crow flies.

Can anyone verify this? I did not see any news information.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[msucog]

recent article

http://www.nwnews.com/editions/2008/080505/features1.htm

i'm not up to speed on that area, but this article mentions M7.5...jumping from M7.5 to 9 is a huge jump and seems a little far, but again, i've not done a lot of reading on that particular fault. the latest usgs report suggests a M7.5 for that specific fault. (search "whidbey" and you'll see the references).

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1128/pdf/OF08-1128.pdf

here's another usgs report turned up with a quick search.

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu5BB1...://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1136/of2005-1136.pdf

 

[msquared48]

Thanks. I'll take a look. Sounds like they probably misread the article, assigning 8 to 9 to a 7.5. Anything for print, right?

FYI, the last link comes up unavailable.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[msquared48]

From reading another recent article, the UGGS is now saying that the Seattle Fault, a long recognized hazard at a 7.2 level, may be a lateral branch of this same Whidbey fault, now rated at 7.5+. It's also interesting that they now think that the longer the faultline, the greater the larger quake potential. Makes sense from an energy - spring theory - level.

And the light gets brighter... I just hope it's not magma breaking the surface...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering