Heightened Earthquake Advisory for Los Angeles Sparks Dark Humor on Social Media
Reaction to the earthquake advisory has been mixed with dark humor.
— -- Concerns that Southern California could in the next few days get hit by a massive earthquake, the so-called "big one," has been met with dark humor by some on social media.
The Governor's Office of Emergency Services asked Southern California residents to remain on heightened alert until Tuesday for the increased possibility of a major earthquake along the San Andreas fault. Such warnings are typically issued once or twice a year, Kelly Huston, the deputy director of crisis communications for the emergency services officer, told The Associated Press.
Some people responded to the heightened alert with memes under the #EarthquakeAdvisory hashtag on Twitter.
Scientists estimate the probability of a quake with a magnitude of 7.0 or higher on the southern San Andreas fault to be as high as 1 in 100 and as low as 1 in 3,000.
Earthquakes along the fault typically occur every 300 years, but the southernmost end of the fault hasn't ruptured since 1690, Morgan Page, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey told the AP. "There is significant stress stored on the southern end."
"California is earthquake country," Mark Ghilarducci, director of the state's emergency services office, told the AP. "We must always be prepared and not let our guard down."