San Francisco Bay faces a high possibility of earthquake as researchers revealed on Monday that four faults are ready to unleash its stored energy, which may result in a destructive shaker.

The study published Monday on the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America indicated high possibility of a destructive earthquake as the Hayward Fault, the Rodgers Creek Fault, the Green Valley Fault, and the Calaveras Fault conjured enough seismic energy for a massive quake.

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"The Hayward Fault is just right in the heart of where people live, and the most buildings and the most infrastructure. But it's not just one fault, it's the whole shopping basket. If you are in the middle of the Bay Area, you are near a whole lot of faults, and I'm concerned about all of them," U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Science Center Research Geophysicist Jim Lienkaemper stated.

Lienkaemper, who was also the lead author of the study, together with his colleagues explained that faults crossing California are in constant motion, steadily creeping by about 1 centimeter every year.

This can be gauged to determine how destructive an earthquake will be at a particular place, but it cannot be used to forecast when the shaker will hit.

According to their study, the next major earthquake to hit the Bay area may be as destructive as that of Loma Prieta's 6.9-magnitude quake that killed more than 60 people and destroyed $6 billion-worth of infrastructure about 25 years ago.

The researchers believe that the Hayward Fault, last ruptured in 1868, and the Calaveras Fault could trigger a similar magnitude earthquake while the Green Valley and the Rodgers Creek faults may each result to a 7.1-magnitude shaker.

Of the four faults along the Bay area, the Hayward Fault, which burst every 10 years, is seen to spawn a devastating earthquake over the next 30 years.

Tagsearthquake, fault, california, San Francisco Bay