Hawaii
University of Hawaii study finds San Andreas Fault stress at 1,000-year high | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
LOS ANGELES >> Stress on the San Andreas Fault system has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii.
Higher stress on a fault means the pressure that causes earthquakes is building.
“Our results show that stress levels on multiple fault segments are now at or above the highest values seen in the past millennium and that the region may be capable of a large through-going rupture involving both fault systems,” said lead author Liliane Burkhard, research affiliate in the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the UH-Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and a scientist at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
“We also found that Cajon Pass may act as an ‘earthquake gate:’ sometimes blocking large ruptures from crossing between the faults, and sometimes allowing them to pass through and involve both systems in a single event,” Burkhard said in a UH news release.
Multi-fault ruptures, where earthquakes continue from one fault to another, have occurred in multiple recent earthquakes, including the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake and became a part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake forecasting model in 2015.
This type of quake would be possible if the Cajon Pass, which is between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains in Southern California, allows an earthquake to pass through it, meaning rather than affecting the area along one fault line, a quake could continue along a second fault and affect a larger area.
Don’t miss out on what’s happening!
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It’s FREE!
But Kate Scharer, a co-author of the study and a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, said there’s no reason for California residents to be significantly more concerned than they were before hearing about the study.
While the stress has reached a milestone, the pressure was already high and the fault has been overdue for a large earthquake for some time, according to the study.
It has been over 100 years since a major tectonic rupture has affected the greater Los Angeles area, which means stress on the tectonic plates has been building, according to the study.
The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake was the most recent “big one” to affect Southern California, while the San Jacinto Fault saw moderate earthquakes in 1918, 1968 and 1987, according to the study. A long period without seismic activity “raised concern that the next slip event in this region could be both large and complex,” the study says.
As more time passes, an earthquake becomes more likely because built-up energy needs to be released.
“We know for the southern San Andreas and the San Jacinto fault that they were just a little bit over the average (time between earthquakes) from looking at the geologic record,” Scharer said.
Those two faults are at highest risk for an earthquake because they are the fastest moving, she said.
The study looked at a geologic record of earthquake activity across the past 1,000 years, giving a new perspective on the total stress the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are under. Tectonic plates are always moving and accumulating stress, save for those few seconds where an earthquake is happening.
When an earthquake releases built-up stress from hundreds to thousands of years of an interseismic period, energy is felt in the form of an earthquake, Scharer said.
Earthquake forecast models from the U.S. Geological Survey are “a reminder that damaging earthquakes are inevitable for California,” and the new study highlights just how much stress the fault systems are under as Californians prepare for the “big one,” according to the USGS.
The study’s importance is with the calculations of stress the researchers did. After a geologic record, which looks at prehistoric earthquakes and is assembled by digging trenches across faults and looking at layers that have been offset in the past, is created, the researchers were able to determine that the stress on the San Andreas fault is at a 1,000-year high.
The stress level could influence if the Cajon Pass facilitates an earthquake spreading from one fault to another, or if it stops an earthquake from doing so. When the stress levels on both faults are similar, both faults appear to rupture jointly, according to the study.
Using a physics-based computer model, the researchers found that that the stress that would normally be released in large earthquakes has continued to accumulate and is at unprecedented levels.
The Cajon Pass, the study suggests, could facilitate a joint rupture of both the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults simultaneously, which could be “significantly more damaging than a single-fault event,” affecting densely populated areas including Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and the Coachella Valley, according to the UH news release.
“This is not a prediction of when an earthquake will happen,” Burkhard said. “However, studies like this are important contributions to national and global earthquake hazard research in that we are using rigorous, quantitative science to better understand the risk facing millions of people. What we can say is that the system is critically stressed, and that physics-based models like this one give us a clearer picture of the range of scenarios we should be prepared for. That information matters for hazard assessments, infrastructure planning, and emergency preparedness.”
Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff contributed to this report.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Honolulu Police Department shut down an illegal gambling operation in Kakaako.
On Thursday, officers with the Narcotics/Vice Gambling detail, along with the District 1 Crime Reduction Unit, Forfeiture Detail and Specialized Services Division, executed a search on a property on Kawaiahao Street.
HPD said they recovered 19 gaming machines and more than $7,000 in cash.
The department said they remain committed to addressing illegal gambling operations.
“The June 25, 2026, operation is the 19th illegal gambling search warrant executed so far in 2026 and the third in the month of June,” said HPD Maj. Jerome Pacarro. “Enforcing the law against these illegal operations helps prevent related criminal activity from taking root and strengthens the safety of our communities.”
To report illegal gambling, call the Narcotics/Vice 24-hour hotline at (808) 723-3933 or use the online form here.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Over the last month, strong earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and higher have rocked the Philippines, Japan, Venezuela, and even Hawaii.
Researchers have been closely monitoring the activity, and while it may seem like more quakes than normal, they say it’s about on par with forecasts.
“This is all pretty normal for earthquakes. On a given year, we expect around 15 between magnitude 7 and 8, and about 150 between magnitude 6 and 7,” said Helen Janiszewski, assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Earth Sciences.
The quakes are, however, hitting in more populated places compared to some large earthquakes in past years, making them more noticeable.
“A couple years ago, there was an actual very similar, sequence of earthquakes to the one that we had in Venezuela where it was, 7.8 and 8.1 in very close sequence, but it was here, where no one lives,” Janiszewski said, pointing to the Southern Atlantic Ocean on a map.
Despite advancements in technology, researchers say there’s still no way to precisely predict when and where the next big earthquake will strike. But some seismology enthusiasts believe patterns can be monitored, studied, and used to implement potential life-saving warnings.
“I think it’s something that could happen as well across the world if people, scientists got together and really understood what’s happening. And then governments also utilize this knowledge to better notify and warn their citizens,” Pahoa resident Bob Gentzel said.
There are upwards of 100 seismographs throughout Hawaii constantly monitoring for quake activity.
Very subtle energy from the Venezuela quake was mapped traveling through the continent.
Some hope investments will be made in early-warning technology, as well as individual emergency preparedness.
“I’m just trying to prove the point that they can be forecastable because I want to save lives,” Gentzel said.
Janiszewski added, “There’s a lot that we can do still in the interim, both on an individual scale for preparedness in your own home as well as investment at community and state levels.”
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
-
Pittsburg, PA2 minutes agoReunited! Penguins Get the Other Twin Ruck in Round 2
-
Augusta, GA9 minutes agoRichmond County elections board seeks dismissal of Myles election challenge
-
Washington, D.C12 minutes ago
Your access has been blocked – The Atlantic
-
Cleveland, OH17 minutes agoCleveland boy, 13, dead following ATV crash in Erie County
-
Austin, TX24 minutes agoCedar Park greenlights Texas Materials HQ move with $14M incentive deal
-
Alabama27 minutes agoThe legend of Alabama’s black panthers: Why the sightings never stop
-
Alaska32 minutes agoDelmonico’s Love Letter To America: A Red, White, And Blue Baked Alaska
-
Arizona39 minutes agoWith water cuts looming in Arizona in US, locals fight data centres
