WASHINGTON: The residents of the southern part of the state of California are being asked by the authorities to on heightened alert until Tuesday for a possible the major earthquake.
The warning issued by the office of the Governor of California has come after number of small temblors deep under the Salton Sea, located on the 800-mile-long San Andreas fault, earlier this week.
The latest alert was issued after 142 temblors hit starting Monday near Bombay Beach at the southern end of the fault. The quakes ranged from a magnitude of 1.4 to 4.3.
The probability of a quake with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher on the southern San Andreas fault being triggered is as high as 1 in 100 and as low as 1 in 3,000. The average chance for such an earthquake striking on any given week is 1 in 6,000, the US media added.
