Principal Segments
The complete fault zone, including the Rodgers Creek fault, is divided by seismologists into three segments - Rodgers Creek, Northern Hayward, and Southern Hayward. It is expected that these segments may fail singly or in adjacent pairs, creating earthquakes of varying magnitude. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in concert with other government agencies has sponsored the analysis of local conditions and the preparation of maps indicative of the destructive potential of these earthquakes. The various ABAG maps shown below represent some of the more likely possible combinations.
While there are indications that a substantial earthquake on a nearby parallel fault can release stress and so also decrease the near–term probability of an earthquake, the opposite appears to be true concerning sequential segments. A release on a major segment can substantially increase the likelihood of an earthquake on an adjacent fault segment, increasing the likelihood of two major regional earthquakes within a period of a few months.
Read more about this topic: Hayward Fault Zone
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