Malibu, California, known for its stretches of beaches and multimillion-dollar mansions, has recently become a seismic hot spot. The latest tremors — a 2.8 magnitude quake on September 28 and a 3.1 magnitude quake the following day — come on the heels of a significant 4.7 magnitude earthquake that rattled the area just weeks earlier, according to the USGS.
Malibu sits alongside the Malibu Coast Fault, a north-dipping reverse fault that runs parallel to Malibu and Pacific Palisades. Mark L. Benthien, the director for communication, education and outreach for the Southern California Earthquake Center, said that while there has been an uptick in Malibu earthquakes, the city does not sit on a major fault and will not experience mass devastation.
“You have to have a longer or greater surface area on a fault to have a larger earthquake. You can’t have a magnitude eight on a small, little local fault,” Benthien explained. “And the faults that these Malibu earthquakes were near, probably the largest earthquake that it could have would be a 7.0 or so.”…