"Whether they are jokes - earthquakes are in no way caused by the weather - or genuine misunderstandings, earthquake myths have circulated in California for decades, shaping how people interpret seismic activity. And as clusters of small quakes rippled through the Bay Area in recent months, particularly around San Ramon, speculation has grown over whether the region could be headed for something bigger. SFGATE spoke with the United States Geological Survey to debunk some of these common beliefs, as some are not always grounded in science."
"Myth: The recent earthquake swarms in the Bay Area are a precursor to a bigger one coming Asking whether one earthquake leads to another is a fair question. Since November, more than 300 small quakes have rattled the San Ramon area, with some of the largest measuring at a magnitude of 4.0. But experts say that frequent shaking or an uptick in quakes aren't a guaranteed sign of a bigger temblor on the horizon. These clustered earthquakes aren't unusual for the area, which has experienced a dozen or so swarms in the past two decades, Roland Burgmann, a UC Berkeley seismologist, previously told SFGATE."
California holds long-standing earthquake superstitions such as "earthquake weather" and fears of the coastline collapsing into the ocean. Earthquakes are not caused by weather, yet myths shape public interpretation of seismic activity. The Bay Area, particularly near San Ramon on the Calaveras Fault, experienced clusters of small quakes—over 300 since November, with some reaching magnitude 4.0. Such swarms have occurred repeatedly; at least eight swarms in San Ramon since the 1970s and a dozen-plus in the area over two decades. Past swarms did not produce a larger quake, so an imminent major temblor is not guaranteed, although small events have preceded larger ones in other regions.
Read at SFGATE
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