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Russia experienced a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, shaking the Kamchatka Peninsula. This quake ranks as the sixth-largest ever recorded, matching the magnitude of a 2010 quake in Chile and a 1906 quake in Ecuador, both of which caused significant damage and tsunamis. The earthquake in Russia generated a tsunami up to 13 feet high, prompting evacuations and warnings across the Pacific, including the U.S. West Coast, as reported by Yahoo News.
In California, concerns arise about the potential for a similarly powerful quake. However, scientists believe that such a massive quake is unlikely in the state. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Andreas Fault, California's longest fault line, can only produce quakes up to 8.3 in magnitude. The Hayward Fault, another significant fault in the Bay Area, is even less capable, maxing out at around 7.0 to 7.2 magnitude.
The U.S. Geological Survey explains that earthquake magnitudes are measured on a logarithmic scale, meaning each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in amplitude and a 32-fold increase in energy release. Thus, while a 7.0 quake is dangerous, an 8.8 quake is exponentially more powerful. The Chronicle quotes William Ellsworth, a Stanford geophysics professor, who emphasizes that proximity to the fault is crucial, as demonstrated by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused significant damage despite being a 6.9 magnitude quake centered in Santa Cruz County.