Research from a new study has indicated that the 2019 Ridgecrest quakes in California have tripled the likelihood of the San Andreas Fault rupturing. Even though last years quakes were 200 kilometres away, Ross Stein, a seismologist and one of the authors of the new study points out that “we do not appreciate the way the network of fault lines connect across the state."

The Temblor CEO (Stein) explains that the Ridgecrest quakes put new stresses on the Garlock Fault, which on its own is not regarded as a major threat, because it has not ruptured in the last 600 years and is located in a relatively unpopulated region.

The threat this fault does pose is, in its greater relationship with the San Andreas Fault. The Garlock Fault is now 100 times more likely to rupture, which would contribute to further instability in the San Andreas Fault - based on modelling from Stein and Shinji Toda, a seismologist at Tohoku University.

References:  sciencemag.org  dailymail.co.uk