There is a small chance that Nevada will be hit with a significant earthquake during our lifetimes. That's why scientists are now looking for some better ways to prepare.
The best brains in the business are putting their heads together to come up with an early warning system, of sorts. An earthquake itself is virtually unavoidable, but proper planning ahead of it can help minimize the damage.
The probability of a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurring within 50 miles of Downtown Las Vegas within the next 50 years is between 40% and 50% percent. Those are just some of the findings of a study released Monday by the US Geological Survey and state mining authorities.
"What I like to say is that there's a pretty darn good chance that we're not going to have an earthquake tomorrow, it's still a chance," said Dr. Jon Price, a geologist.
Geologist John Price is helping communities in Nevada plan for earthquakes by creating an interactive map of fault lines.
"Some time in the next few hundred years, we're going to have a really big earthquake that hits an urban area in Nevada, and it's likely to cause billions of dollars worth of damage," said Dr. Price.
The study estimates that if a worst-case scenario, a 7.0 quake will hit Clark County and up to 60,000 buildings would be destroyed, 13,000 people would need public shelter, 8,100 people would have to visit a hospital, 2,300 people would be killed.
The total economic loss would be $25 billion.
"Let's start to be prepared. Let's make sure we have the best building codes, and are implementing those building codes. Let's make sure we do the non-structural type of mitigation," said Dr. Price.
The last measurable earthquake to hit Nevada was last year in Wells. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but there was property damage.
