TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - A series of recent earthquakes in the western U-S, and Asia have residents wondering if the next one's the big one.
Earthquakes are really very rare in the Tucson area. But it may seem like Earthquakes are picking up worldwide so the question we had for a U of A earthquake expert is: "Are earthquakes really picking up?"
Sirens warned people in Kodiak Alaska Tuesday that an undersea earthquake off the coast could create a dangerous tsunami.
The tsunami never surged in, but the quake was enough to shake furniture and nerves.
In Southern California Thursday a magnitude 4 quake was enough to knock things off grocery shelves.
There have been similar eye-opening earthquakes in Indonesia and Japan.
"In general, if you look over the last hundred years it comes and goes but there's nothing, I don't think anything unusual happening right now that isn't part of that normal pattern."
UA professor Susan Beck is an earthquake expert.
She says every day she gets a long list of earthquakes around the world. Many are so mild seismographs feel them but people do not. Several websites help scientists monitor quakes around the world. This one shows quakes around the world. This site shows activity picked up in Tucson.
In the past few days some have been strong enough for people to notice.
She says, “Whenever there's earthquakes in California. There was one in the Gulf of California and up in Northern California and anything anybody feels catches our attention. So when we seen things happen in California, even if they're small earthquakes on an active fault and people feel them that definitely gets our attention."
Doctor Beck says it's so easy to share information, that may make us more aware of quakes around the U.S. and around the world.
But fearful souls here in Tucson can move earthquakes low on their list of worries. The Tucson area does have some geologic faults but Doctor Beck says they are not very active.
